Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 724,067 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 99,030 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 1.22% of Waters worth $268,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Waters by 438.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,738 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $392.13.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $10.63 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $337.75. 377,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,247. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $20.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $351.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.19. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The company's revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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.