Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,182 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,910,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,633,464,000 after buying an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 6.3% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,066,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $761,643,000 after buying an additional 123,215 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waters by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $537,053,000 after purchasing an additional 34,762 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 889,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $329,911,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Waters from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $420.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $381.94.

Waters Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $9.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.39. The stock had a trading volume of 717,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,336. The firm has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.10. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $284.65 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $344.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $360.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 41.70%. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS 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.