KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $7.34 Million Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 19,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $7,342,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Waters by 7,120.8% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $70,264,000 after purchasing an additional 186,778 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,114,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $373.07 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $390.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $371.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

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.