Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 9,451 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 195,481 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,451 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $56,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD increased its stake in Waters by 54.4% in the second quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 7,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,041,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Waters by 9.5% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,104 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Waters by 4.3% in the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.4% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 136,831 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,697,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Sofinnova Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,326,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 0.5 %

WAT opened at $336.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $329.02 and its 200-day moving average is $324.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.50.

Waters 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.