Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,580 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $322.57 on Friday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $234.04 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $341.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $324.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Waters’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $342.58.

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.