Quest Partners LLC Sells 505 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Quest Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 51.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 477 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 505 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Waters Stock Down 0.4 %

Waters stock opened at $386.57 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $356.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $332.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.35, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $273.60 and a twelve month high of $395.44.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

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.