Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV Lowers Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lessened its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,385 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Waters by 186.3% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,321,894.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. SVB Leerink raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.58.

Waters Stock Up 0.6 %

WAT traded up $1.86 on Tuesday, hitting $330.69. The company had a trading volume of 278,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $303.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS 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.