Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $9.64 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 133,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.5% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 51.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $368.00 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $353.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $331.57. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $273.60 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The stock has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.