Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 1,153 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,697 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,850,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $388.15 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $273.60 and a 12 month high of $393.38. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $355.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $332.34. The stock has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

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.