Caprock Group LLC Has $461,000 Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 119.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,588 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $300,000. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 346,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $114,191,000 after acquiring an additional 18,946 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,267 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 1.4 %

WAT opened at $322.08 on Friday. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $367.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $324.79 and a 200-day moving average of $324.77. The stock has a market cap of $19.11 billion, a PE ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $318.50.

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.