Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stake Raised by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,106 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 18,251 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.37% of Waters worth $80,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE WAT opened at $358.40 on Tuesday. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month 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 has a market cap of $21.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $346.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $371.33.

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

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