Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Position Reduced by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 76.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 5,243 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Waters were worth $587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,106,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Waters by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Waters by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Waters by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,611,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $373.47 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $273.60 and a 12 month high of $393.38. 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 company has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $354.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $331.99.

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

Waters 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.