30,649 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Purchased by Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 30,649 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $11,030,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the second 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. grew its holdings in Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $368.00 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $273.60 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $353.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $331.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.