Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $70.26 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7,120.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 186,778 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.32% of Waters worth $70,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 235.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.07.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $381.99 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $391.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 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.