PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 1,573 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,058 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 3.8% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Waters by 0.3% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 37 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 a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $373.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $354.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $331.99. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $273.60 and a fifty-two week high of $393.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm 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.

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