Edgestream Partners L.P. Grows Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 523.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,113 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,293 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter worth $2,773,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $962,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Waters by 2,134.3% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,251,163,000 after purchasing an additional 64,525 shares during the period. Finally, Madison Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 187,483 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $61,725,000 after purchasing an additional 39,954 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. TD Cowen upped their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.50.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $336.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $329.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $324.60. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21.

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

Waters Company 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.