Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Aviso Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Aviso Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Waters Corporation by 17.9% in the first quarter, owning 6,428 shares valued at approximately $2.37 million.
• Waters Corporation reported $2.95 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, with a revenue rise of 8.8% compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Waters stock; the consensus is a "Hold" with an average price target of $378.73.

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 17.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,428 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 977 shares during the period. Aviso Financial Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $2,369,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,680,334,000 after buying an additional 173,584 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Waters by 6.3% in the first 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 buying an additional 123,215 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Waters by 14.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,112,128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $409,897,000 after buying an additional 136,396 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 889,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $329,911,000 after buying an additional 3,713 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 739,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $272,605,000 after buying an additional 15,563 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $291.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $319.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $345.68. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The business had revenue of $771.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Waters and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $378.73.

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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