Cerity Partners LLC Grows Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 807 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Waters by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after acquiring an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WAT opened at $386.81 on Tuesday. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $395.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.91, a PEG ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $359.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $333.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

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.