World Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.35 Million Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

World Investment Advisors LLC decreased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,518 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 96.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,944,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 71.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $375.85.

Waters Stock Down 1.2 %

WAT opened at $378.26 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $366.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $336.11. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $397.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS 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.