Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,420 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 170.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 65.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after buying an additional 1,867 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 30.9% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 2.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,048,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Waters by 126.3% in the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,783 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America cut their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.40.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $374.24 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $388.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $365.60. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.