Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 60.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,924 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 4,095 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $4,026,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.7% during the 4th 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 34,762 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $329,911,000 after buying an additional 3,713 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector outperform" rating and set a $465.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.94.

Waters Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WAT stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, hitting $352.92. The stock had a trading volume of 565,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 473,423. The business has a 50 day moving average of $349.62 and a 200 day moving average of $363.60. The stock has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.28. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $297.14 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

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