Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Eads & Heald Wealth Management

Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Waters were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Waters by 96.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.6% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,944,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $413.63 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $379.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.34. The company has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $416.24. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current 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.