Oak Ridge Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Oak Ridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after purchasing an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Waters by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,664,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $387.21 on Friday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $241.40 and a fifty-two week high of $389.35. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $342.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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 lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $342.58.

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.