Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Holdings Lifted by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,614 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 15,622 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Waters worth $58,101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Waters stock traded down $4.69 on Wednesday, reaching $377.46. 42,339 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,703. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $391.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $370.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

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Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $391.07.

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.