Progressive Investment Management Corp Sells 358 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Progressive Investment Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,767 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 358 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for 1.9% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at about $282,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position 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. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 67.5% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,574,000 after purchasing an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 36.6% during the first quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 11,934 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,108,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $343.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $351.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.13. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $269.00 and a 12 month high of $393.38. The company has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a PEG ratio of 6.50 and a beta of 0.97.

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. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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.