Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $72.11 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 194,364 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.33% of Waters worth $72,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Waters by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 95,929 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,663,000 after acquiring an additional 9,223 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Waters by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 26,918 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,986,000 after purchasing an additional 7,600 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 33,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $12,604,000 after buying an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association lifted its stake in Waters by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.40.

Waters Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $370.19 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $388.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.08.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.