DnB Asset Management AS Raises Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Waters by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $368.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $386.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $373.25. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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%. Equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Barclays upgraded 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.31.

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.