Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Mediolanum International Funds Ltd

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $382,404,000 after acquiring an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Waters by 8.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,417,000 after acquiring an additional 51,853 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Waters by 21.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Waters by 4.3% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $152,664,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $324.55 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $234.04 and a 52 week high of $367.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $342.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.80. The firm has a market cap of $19.25 billion, a PE ratio of 31.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.67 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Waters’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.58.

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.