Sheets Smith Wealth Management Lowers Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,728 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Waters were worth $641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Waters by 9.5% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,104 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Waters by 228.0% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 11,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 9,502 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $408.40 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.25 billion, a PE ratio of 38.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $379.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $352.73. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $416.24.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

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.