Waters Corporation $WAT Stock Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group increased its Waters stake by 3% in the third quarter to 220,471 shares valued at approximately $96.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.01% of the company.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $457.50; several firms recently raised their targets to between $500 and $515.
• Waters reported quarterly earnings of $3.05 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue reached $1.65 billion, up 113.3% year over year. The stock opened at $449.12, down 2.9%, with a market capitalization of about $44.13 billion.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 6,326 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Waters worth $96,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,573,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,967 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $7,016,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 87.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 2,059 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 57.1% in the 3rd quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,013 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $177,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waters from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $435.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waters Stock Down 2.9%

WAT stock opened at $449.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $482.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $431.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.83. The firm has a market cap of $44.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 112.00, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company's product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.

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