World Investment Advisors Acquires 444 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Waters were worth $2,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Waters by 7.1% during 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 period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $324.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $381.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $373.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.31.

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.