Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Waters Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $355.52 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $346.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $365.42. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 41.70%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WAT. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $388.00.

Waters Company 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.