HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 335 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,301 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 335 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $371.33.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $385.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.88 billion, a PE ratio of 36.76, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $364.96 and a 200 day moving average of $335.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $397.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its 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. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.