Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $100,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $104,000. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,433 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $908,000 after acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,998 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,439,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.1 %

WAT stock opened at $320.90 on Friday. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.96, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $360.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays reduced their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.38.

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.