Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 6,420 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 531,632 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,420 shares during the period. Waters comprises approximately 0.9% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.90% of Waters worth $191,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at about $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 purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $359.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,721. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $350.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $258.89 and a twelve month high of $393.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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 return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share 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.