Raymond James Trust N.A. Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Waters were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 384,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $138,428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,865 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth about $483,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at about $11,030,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 10,868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,912,000 after buying an additional 57 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 recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $388.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $355.03 and its 200-day moving average is $332.34. Waters Co. has a one year low of $273.60 and a one year high of $393.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

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.