National Pension Service Raises Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,857 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Waters worth $32,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after acquiring an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth $266,384,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Waters by 307.6% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 287,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $100,285,000 after purchasing an additional 216,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake 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 valued at $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $398.61.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $379.45 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $390.02 and its 200 day moving average is $344.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.18. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $417.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.19. Waters had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 36.59%. The business had revenue of $799.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $780.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

About Waters

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.