Sofinnova Investments Inc. Makes New Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Sofinnova Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 21,804 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $6,326,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $229,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Waters by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 346,812 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $114,191,000 after acquiring an additional 18,946 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,267 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV boosted its stake in Waters by 3,375.0% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.50.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $328.73 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $326.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 32.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share 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.