Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 255 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Waters by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 4.8 %

Waters stock opened at $358.46 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $258.89 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $350.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $330.43. The firm has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.