MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,762 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in Waters by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 994 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,649,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Waters by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 362 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 2.2%

WAT opened at $359.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $346.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $371.53. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.19.

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.