Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,984 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $386.17 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $327.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $246.35 and a 12-month high of $393.38. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.85, a PEG ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

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.