Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,983 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its position in Waters by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

Waters Trading Down 3.1 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $378.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $369.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

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

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.