Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 1,725 Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

Bank of Nova Scotia cut its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 21.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,725 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Waters were worth $2,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,066,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $761,643,000 after purchasing an additional 123,215 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Waters by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 889,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,713 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Waters by 1.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 738,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $272,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,522 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Waters by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 724,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $268,614,000 after purchasing an additional 99,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 676.8% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 705,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $260,112,000 after purchasing an additional 614,877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $378.73.

Waters Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Waters stock traded up $0.03 on Thursday, hitting $277.75. 707,887 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,297,604. The company has a fifty day moving average of $326.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $351.72. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $276.00 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a market capitalization of $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $771.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.96 million. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%. The company's revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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.