Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 1,932 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,552 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Waters worth $17,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Waters by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Waters by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 9.2 %

Waters stock opened at $335.92 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $372.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.68. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.31.

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.