Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $8.81 Million Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,365 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,092 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $382,404,000 after acquiring an additional 11,851 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,286,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Waters by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 601,039 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $206,895,000 after acquiring an additional 38,046 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Waters by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,664,000 after acquiring an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT traded down $2.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $342.32. 58,930 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,100. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $315.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.11.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.50.

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.