Quest Partners LLC Sells 505 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Quest Partners LLC reduced its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 51.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 477 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $386.57 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.35, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $356.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $273.60 and a twelve month high of $395.44.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters 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.