Cambiar Investors LLC Sells 3,228 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Cambiar Investors LLC cut its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 167,006 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,228 shares during the period. Waters makes up about 2.3% of Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Cambiar Investors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $60,104,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $342.58.

Waters Trading Up 19.8 %

Shares of WAT opened at $387.21 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $342.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $241.40 and a 52-week high of $389.35. The company has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.57, a PEG ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.