Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,956 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $284,415,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 3,349.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $112,928,000 after buying an additional 295,580 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $104,645,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Waters by 438.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $112,435,000 after buying an additional 246,738 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 0.5%

Waters stock traded down $1.87 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $346.59. The company had a trading volume of 412,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 478,890. The firm has a market cap of $20.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $345.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.83.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.19.

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.