Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 676.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 705,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 614,877 shares during the period. Waters makes up about 1.2% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned approximately 1.19% of Waters worth $260,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,415,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 50,228.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 662,320 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $244,111,000 after buying an additional 661,004 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 3,349.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,928,000 after buying an additional 295,580 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Waters by 438.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,435,000 after buying an additional 246,738 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Waters by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Baird R W raised Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen raised Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and set a $465.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $388.94.

Waters Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WAT opened at $352.92 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $349.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $363.50. The stock has a market cap of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.10. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $297.14 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.81 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.

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