Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by River Global Investors LLP

River Global Investors LLP increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,540 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the quarter. Waters comprises about 2.1% of River Global Investors LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. River Global Investors LLP’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.4% in the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WAT traded down $1.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $384.51. The stock had a trading volume of 361,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,998. The business’s 50 day moving average is $346.56 and its 200 day moving average is $328.25. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $246.35 and a fifty-two week high of $393.38. The stock has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 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.