Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stake Boosted by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 85,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Waters were worth $30,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.4% during the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Waters by 3.2% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $384.72 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $276.84 and a 12-month high of $395.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $358.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $333.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

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.