SFE Investment Counsel Sells 709 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

SFE Investment Counsel decreased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 55.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 570 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 709 shares during the quarter. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Waters were worth $211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Waters by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after acquiring an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $382.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $390.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.86. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $388.64.

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.