Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 71.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 58,983 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $50,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Down 4.8 %

NYSE WAT opened at $358.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $258.89 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average of $350.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $330.58.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

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.