Aberdeen Group plc Buys 2,783,151 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its Waters stake by 2,783,151 shares in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 2,921,255 shares, worth about $1.28 billion.
• Analysts’ average rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $475.48; several firms recently raised targets or upgraded their ratings.
• Waters reported quarterly EPS of $4.10, above the $4.00 consensus, and revenue of $1.77 billion, also exceeding expectations.

Aberdeen Group plc raised its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2,015.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,921,255 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,783,151 shares during the quarter. Waters makes up about 1.3% of Aberdeen Group plc's portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 2.97% of Waters worth $1,283,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Vision Retirement LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Deutsche Bank increased their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group upgraded Waters from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Waters from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $480.00 in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $475.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waters from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $475.48.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $460.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.89 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 197.51, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $440.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $374.12. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $483.33.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.00 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.75 billion. Waters had a net margin of 1.75% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The business's revenue was up 120.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.40 EPS. Analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.65 EPS for the current year.

About Waters

Waters Corporation develops and supplies analytical instruments, software, and consumables used to identify, measure, and characterize chemical and biological materials. Its products include liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry systems, which help customers analyze complex samples. The company serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses, academic and government laboratories, and customers in fields such as food, environmental testing, and materials science. Waters operates internationally, with customers and operations across multiple regions.

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