Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 34 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 312 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMPACTfolio LLC raised its position in Waters by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC now owns 803 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Waters by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 3.9% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Waters by 35.2% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $294.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $336.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.38. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $363.80. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

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.