Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 938 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,931 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WAT traded up $9.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $388.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,014,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,438. 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 capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $355.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.34. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $273.60 and a 1 year high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $365.85.

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.