Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Holdings Lifted by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 228.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 7,920 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,832,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Waters by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 32.5% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 175,724 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,858,000 after purchasing an additional 43,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $340.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.10.

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. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.