Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Applied Finance Capital Management LLC

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 3,627.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Waters worth $24,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $1,028,000. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 3.5% in the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $739,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,457 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $469,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given 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 an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

Waters stock traded down $1.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $384.51. 361,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 432,537. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $346.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $328.25. The company has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.55. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $246.35 and a 52-week high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.