KBC Group NV Reduces Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,337 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $358.46 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $258.89 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $350.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $330.69.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.