Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 352 shares during the period. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Waters by 34.4% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3,627.0% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after buying an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 71.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $410.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $354.99. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $416.24.

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 company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.71.

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.