Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Holdings Decreased by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV reduced its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,337 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 19,900.0% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $358.46 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $258.89 and a 12 month high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $350.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $330.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Barclays raised their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.