AKO Capital LLP Has $302.49 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

AKO Capital LLP raised its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 815,379 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 25,172 shares during the period. Waters makes up about 4.2% of AKO Capital LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. AKO Capital LLP owned approximately 1.37% of Waters worth $302,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,633,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Waters by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $927,700,000 after buying an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $508,123,000 after buying an additional 16,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $318,717,000 after acquiring an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE WAT traded up $1.81 on Monday, reaching $363.97. The company had a trading volume of 154,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,371. The firm has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The business has a 50 day moving average of $387.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $372.92. 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 (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on WAT shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank raised Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised Waters from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $401.31.

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.