Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI Sells 250 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,272 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,633,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Waters by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $984,582,000 after acquiring an additional 212,364 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $537,053,000 after purchasing an additional 34,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Waters by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 889,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $329,911,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $349.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $368.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.67, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.11.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.19.

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.