Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. cut its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 74,088 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 7,294 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $26,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Waters by 0.7% in the 1st 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 acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 106.4% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 29.4% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 94,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,389,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Waters by 61.6% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $378.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $355.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.34. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $273.60 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a PE ratio of 36.11, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.