Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,204 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,087 shares during the period. Waters accounts for about 0.9% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.16% of Waters worth $34,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Waters by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 176,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $63,377,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Waters by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 10,868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,631,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $371.61 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $391.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.08 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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.