S&CO Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

S&CO Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,276 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $42,114,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $40,404,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Waters by 37.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in Waters by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 714,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,937,000 after buying an additional 68,509 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $390.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.20 billion, a PE ratio of 36.46, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $391.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $369.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

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.