Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 1,153 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,697 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,153 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Waters by 0.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,647,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 94,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,389,000 after buying an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Waters by 61.6% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,267,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth about $10,106,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $388.15 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $355.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $332.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $273.60 and a 1 year high of $393.38.

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

Waters Company 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.