Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stake Lifted by EFG Asset Management North America Corp.

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 37.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,659 shares during the quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in Waters by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after buying an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $368.21 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $389.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.13.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

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.