Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Lowers Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC reduced its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,097 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in Waters in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $342.58.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded down $4.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $344.43. 125,311 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 422,880. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $342.54 and a 200 day moving average of $325.07.

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