Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in Waters by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co grew its position in Waters by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $336.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $329.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. Waters’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.50.

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.