Financial Counselors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Financial Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 743 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $171,719,000 after acquiring an additional 17,185 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at about $229,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at about $101,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 81,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $29,386,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 22.0% in the third quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $384.72 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $276.84 and a 52-week high of $395.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $359.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $333.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.