Norges Bank Buys Shares of 766,658 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 766,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $284,415,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.29% of Waters at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after buying an additional 807 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 81,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,386,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at about $229,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Waters by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 477,144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $171,719,000 after buying an additional 17,185 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $267,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.40.

Waters Stock Down 2.4 %

WAT opened at $361.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $387.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $372.60. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.