Parthenon LLC grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,881 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 700 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for about 1.5% of Parthenon LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Parthenon LLC owned about 0.06% of Waters worth $12,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the third 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 boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $318,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 728,534 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $270,272,000 after purchasing an additional 72,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $219,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.
Waters Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $5.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $375.74. 138,945 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 448,766. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $388.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $365.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $390.40.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on WAT
About Waters
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Articles
Before you consider Waters, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Waters wasn't on the list.
While Waters currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
As the AI market heats up, investors who have a vision for artificial intelligence have the potential to see real returns. Learn about the industry as a whole as well as seven companies that are getting work done with the power of AI.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
