Stifel Financial Corp Grows Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 720 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 3.8% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $371.33.

Waters Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $382.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $397.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $365.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $335.79. The company has a market cap of $22.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51, a P/E/G ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its 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 return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.