Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $10.35 Million Position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters Corporation by 14.8%, owning 28,092 shares worth approximately $10.35 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Other institutional investors, including Olde Wealth Management LLC and IFP Advisors Inc., have also recently modified their positions, leading institutional ownership to 94.01% of Waters' stock.
• Waters reported $2.25 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, and anticipates a 12.86 EPS for the current year amidst mixed ratings from analysts.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,631 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $10,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Waters by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,066,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $761,643,000 after buying an additional 123,215 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $537,053,000 after buying an additional 34,762 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Waters by 0.4% in 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 buying an additional 3,713 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 738,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $272,026,000 after buying an additional 9,522 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Waters by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 724,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $268,614,000 after buying an additional 99,030 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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, July 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $382.40.

Waters Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:WAT traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $290.77. 1,201,345 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,116,492. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $332.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $355.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $279.61 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.10.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS 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 business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.