Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $138.43 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 384,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 7,865 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.65% of Waters worth $138,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,883,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Waters by 0.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $27,647,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters by 106.4% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 94,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,389,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded up $4.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $378.16. The stock had a trading volume of 850,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 435,456. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $273.60 and a 52 week high of $393.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $354.04 and its 200 day moving average is $332.04. The stock has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.70, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

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