Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 6,224 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Verition Fund Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 83.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,231 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 6,224 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $24,828,000 after acquiring an additional 67,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 71.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. 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 recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $375.85.

Waters Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $4.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $378.38. The company had a trading volume of 307,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 439,973. The stock has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a PE ratio of 36.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $366.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $336.08. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $397.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.