Amalgamated Bank Sells 172 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,972 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $377.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $390.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $367.30. The company has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $390.40.

Waters 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.