Primecap Management Co. CA Grows Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,859 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 6,700 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Waters were worth $28,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,797,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $328.97 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $326.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $324.56. The stock has a market cap of $19.51 billion, a PE ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.95.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.50.

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.