Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Raises Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,976 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned about 0.06% of Waters worth $12,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after buying an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

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Waters Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of Waters stock traded down $12.63 on Tuesday, hitting $355.95. 239,882 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 468,088. The company has a fifty day moving average of $386.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $373.25. The company has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. 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 Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised Waters from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $401.31.

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.