Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,637 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 763 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Waters were worth $5,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 3.0% in 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 last quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 3,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 744 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.
Waters Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $7.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $346.09. 383,368 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 474,419. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $341.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.92.
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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. Waters's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.19.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on WAT
About Waters
(
Free Report)
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.
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