Commerce Bank Sells 218 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Commerce Bank lessened its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $282,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 19.5% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,647,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 106.4% during the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $373.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $354.04 and a 200-day moving average of $331.94. The company has a market cap of $22.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $273.60 and a 52 week high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

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.