Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Purchases Shares of 30,649 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,649 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $11,030,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.05% of Waters at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 19,900.0% during the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT traded up $4.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $373.47. 364,785 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 436,042. Waters Co. has a one year low of $273.60 and a one year high of $393.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $354.04 and a 200 day moving average of $331.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.85.

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.