Czech National Bank Purchases 789 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rockland Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $228,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 6.9% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,647,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the third quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 11,168 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $605,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Waters by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.64.

Waters Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $357.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $340.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $324.81. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 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.