Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Aviso Financial Inc.

Aviso Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Waters by 15.7% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,070,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,131,757,000 after buying an additional 416,669 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Waters by 93.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 572,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $211,125,000 after acquiring an additional 276,433 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $94,028,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 307.6% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 287,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $100,285,000 after purchasing an additional 216,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Waters by 121.6% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 389,824 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,064,000 after purchasing an additional 213,930 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $399.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $341.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $329.06. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $23.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waters from $315.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.57.

Waters 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.