Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.11% of Waters worth $236,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, 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 research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of WAT traded down $1.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $384.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 191,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 431,758. 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 12-month low of $246.35 and a 12-month high of $393.38. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 36.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $345.80 and its 200 day moving average is $327.56.

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