Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 1,464 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 143,058 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,464 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Waters worth $47,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 11,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $295.98 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $335.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.56.

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

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.67.

About Waters

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.