Barclays PLC Raises Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Barclays PLC raised its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.27% of Waters worth $57,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.4% during the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $371.33.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $382.58 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $397.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 7.05 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $365.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $335.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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.