Czech National Bank Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Czech National Bank raised its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 782 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Waters were worth $4,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Waters by 96.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $7,611,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $130,053,000 after buying an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Waters by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the second quarter worth approximately $2,944,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:WAT traded up $7.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $405.69. 343,924 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 456,792. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $411.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71, a PEG ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $377.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.49.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $384.71.

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.