Linscomb Wealth Inc. Purchases 191 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,032 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock traded down $15.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $361.66. 188,895 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 431,246. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $258.89 and a 52-week high of $393.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $330.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

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.