Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 63.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A.’s holdings in Waters were worth $67,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Waters by 1.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after acquiring an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.7% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $171,719,000 after purchasing an additional 17,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Down 0.0 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $387.00 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $360.14 and a 200-day moving average of $333.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $395.44.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

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.