Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 81,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $29,386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $384.05 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $334.34. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $395.50.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

About Waters

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.