HM Payson & Co. Lowers Position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

HM Payson & Co. cut its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,585 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 3,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 744 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 1,734 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $643,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.00.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $350.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.81. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $364.25.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

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.