UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 590 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,732 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 590 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Waters by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Waters by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $361.61 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $387.41 and a 200-day moving average of $372.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.40.

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.