Willis Investment Counsel Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,727 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 956 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Waters were worth $11,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third 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. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 37.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after purchasing an additional 82,865 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3,627.0% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $22,188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.71.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $415.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $386.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $358.70. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Waters 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.