Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 348.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 20,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,924 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $10,106,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 67.5% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,382 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,574,000 after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted 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 valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 61.6% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after acquiring an additional 2,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 48.1% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 8,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,081,000 after acquiring an additional 2,908 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $358.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $258.89 and a 12 month high of $393.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $350.75 and its 200 day moving average is $330.58.

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

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.