Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Champlain Investment Partners LLC

Champlain Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 744,229 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 12,895 shares during the period. Waters comprises 1.6% of Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $267,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $282,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 10.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $27,647,000 after buying an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 106.4% during the 1st quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WAT opened at $373.47 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $273.60 and a 12-month high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $354.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $331.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current 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.