Sheets Smith Wealth Management Sells 150 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,228 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Waters were worth $802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position 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. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE WAT opened at $384.51 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $246.35 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $346.56 and a 200-day moving average of $328.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current 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.