Rhumbline Advisers Increases Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 125,518 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 9,365 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.21% of Waters worth $46,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth 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% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $984,582,000 after acquiring an additional 212,364 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $537,053,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the fourth 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. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded down $7.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $346.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 383,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,419. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $341.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $368.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.