Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stake Lifted by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 92,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 9,087 shares during the quarter. Waters comprises 0.9% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned about 0.16% of Waters worth $34,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake 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 period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Waters by 7,120.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $70,264,000 after buying an additional 186,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,114,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $7.61 on Monday, hitting $373.07. The stock had a trading volume of 383,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,064. The company's 50-day moving average is $390.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.85. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.