National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 3,987 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Waters by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,582,000 after acquiring an additional 212,364 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.31.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $324.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $373.46. The company has a market cap of $19.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current 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.