QRG Capital Management Inc. Makes New $208,000 Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 577 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at about $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 1.3 %

WAT opened at $385.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters Co. has a one year low of $249.34 and a one year high of $393.38. The company has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.80, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $348.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.41.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

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.