Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters Corporation by 2.4%, owning over 7.27 million shares, which represents 12.22% of the company's total value.
• Investment analysts have set various price targets for Waters, with averages ranging from $378.73, and ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold."
• In its latest earnings report, Waters Corporation posted an EPS of $2.95, beating analyst expectations, with revenues of $771.33 million—an 8.8% increase year-over-year.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 173,584 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 12.22% of Waters worth $2,680,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $111,000. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in Waters by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in Waters by 638.5% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 6,602 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,433,000 after purchasing an additional 5,708 shares in the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its holdings in Waters by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 100,345 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $36,884,000 after purchasing an additional 9,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,981,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank restated a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $378.73.

Waters Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $280.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $325.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $771.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.96 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The company's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current 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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