Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Holdings Lowered by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Waters were worth $62,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waters by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $63,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE WAT opened at $378.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $391.24 and its 200-day moving average is $370.28. The firm has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

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.