Ballentine Partners LLC Sells 43 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,281 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 43 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in Waters by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $72,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

Waters Stock Down 1.3 %

WAT opened at $408.40 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $379.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.73. 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 twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $416.24. The stock has a market cap of $24.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.97, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

About Waters

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.