OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Acquires 3,076 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 90,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 3,076 shares during the quarter. Waters makes up approximately 0.9% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd owned about 0.15% of Waters worth $33,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,363,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 7,120.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $70,264,000 after purchasing an additional 186,778 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 497 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 856 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $318,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 9,373 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Waters Stock Up 0.7 %

WAT traded up $2.53 during trading on Friday, reaching $365.75. The stock had a trading volume of 864,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 440,291. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock's 50 day moving average is $390.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $371.28. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. Barclays raised Waters from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $391.07.

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.