743 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Bought by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 743 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 96.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Waters by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,611,000 after purchasing an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth $2,944,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 310.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,635 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,596,000 after buying an additional 3,505 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $384.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $359.20 and a 200-day moving average of $333.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $276.84 and a 12 month high of $395.44.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.