Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lessened its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,656 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 402 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in 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 during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $110,005,000 after acquiring an additional 82,865 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 3,627.0% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

WAT stock opened at $403.85 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $378.88 and its 200 day moving average is $351.45. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $411.58. The stock has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.54, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WAT. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.71.

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.