Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Has $2.99 Million Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,085 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 360 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 11,000.0% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAT. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price target 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, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $14.74 on Friday, reaching $323.15. 199,736 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 398,755. The company has a fifty day moving average of $337.85 and a 200-day moving average of $304.04. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. The company has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.13, a PEG ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.