AlphaQuest LLC Grows Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 58.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 560 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd grew its position in Waters by 676.8% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 705,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $260,112,000 after purchasing an additional 614,877 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Waters by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,070,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,131,757,000 after purchasing an additional 416,669 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Waters by 93.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 572,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $211,125,000 after purchasing an additional 276,433 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $94,028,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waters by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,680,334,000 after purchasing an additional 173,584 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $350.17 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $316.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $324.57. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The firm had revenue of $608.55 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Waters and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.80.

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.