Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 186.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Waters were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,689,208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,076,263,000 after buying an additional 30,274 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,520,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $965,392,000 after buying an additional 48,740 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 37.2% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,018,487 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $538,008,000 after buying an additional 547,777 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 79.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,504,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $467,011,000 after purchasing an additional 666,851 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.7% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,229,235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $379,738,000 after purchasing an additional 32,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

Waters Stock Up 0.6 %

Waters stock opened at $295.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $335.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $305.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.92. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. Waters’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.