Greenleaf Trust Sells 319 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Greenleaf Trust lowered its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 28.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 820 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 319 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Waters were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Waters by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Waters by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $310.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $335.35 and its 200 day moving average is $306.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.92. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The business had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

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.