Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by Swedbank AB

Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 0.05% of Waters worth $11,260,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE WAT opened at $388.15 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $355.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $332.34. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $273.60 and a fifty-two week high of $393.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $365.85.

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.