Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 7,120.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 186,778 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.32% of Waters worth $70,264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $42,114,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $40,404,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $391.07.

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Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded up $2.53 during trading on Friday, hitting $365.75. 864,995 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 440,291. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $390.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.28. The company has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current 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.