Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 9,522 Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 738,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 9,522 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 1.24% of Waters worth $272,026,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 85.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 4.1% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 169.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,283,000 after buying an additional 7,301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $388.00.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT traded down $1.70 on Friday, hitting $350.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 251,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,262. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $348.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $364.39. 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 (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters 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.