Lafayette Investments Inc. Sells 458 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Lafayette Investments Inc. lessened its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 5.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,842 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 458 shares during the quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $441,000. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC grew its position in Waters by 0.9% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 31,822 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,107,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in Waters by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 294,325 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $102,731,000 after buying an additional 6,525 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,050 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,065,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 17,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,076,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.80.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $343.16 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $306.62 and a 200-day moving average of $322.86. The stock has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.94, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The business had revenue of $608.55 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.