Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 4,315 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Squarepoint Ops LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,954 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,315 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Waters worth $13,709,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 964 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,829 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,533,000 after buying an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,441 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,922,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $348.01 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $345.15 and its 200 day moving average is $370.83.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.