Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by SFE Investment Counsel

SFE Investment Counsel lowered its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 160 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Waters were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 11,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 94.9% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 115 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $294.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $336.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.38. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 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.