Atomi Financial Group Inc. Makes New $341,000 Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 946 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after buying an additional 41,654 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd boosted its position in Waters by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after acquiring an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,417,000 after acquiring an additional 51,853 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Waters by 4.3% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $152,664,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $335.64.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $357.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.01 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $340.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.81.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly 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. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

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.