Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 1,261 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 31,649 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,261 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Waters were worth $11,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $42,114,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $40,404,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Waters by 37.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in Waters by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 714,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,937,000 after buying an additional 68,509 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eleven equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $372.92 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $391.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $369.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released 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%. Analysts predict 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.