Greenleaf Trust Sells 319 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Greenleaf Trust decreased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 28.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 820 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 319 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Waters were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 8,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,786,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Waters by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 8,545 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,813,000 after purchasing an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Hikari Power Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Hikari Power Ltd now owns 47,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,681,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 34,029 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,203,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $310.25 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $335.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.69. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $363.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $815.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.67.

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.