OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Trims Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd cut its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 13.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,780 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 13,526 shares during the period. Waters makes up 0.9% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $31,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE WAT opened at $380.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $249.34 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of 36.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $347.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $328.89.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal 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.