BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Has $3.56 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,897 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,442 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Waters were worth $3,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock traded up $4.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $391.35. 655,677 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 441,962. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $395.44. The firm has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.93, a PEG ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $361.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $333.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.