Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by LaFleur & Godfrey LLC

LaFleur & Godfrey LLC cut its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 190 shares during the quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 2.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Waters by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,998 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Waters by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $403.85 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $411.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $378.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.63. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.