590 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Bought by Nicolet Advisory Services LLC

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Waters by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Waters by 2.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 384,641 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $138,428,000 after acquiring an additional 7,865 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $373.47 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $273.60 and a 12-month high of $393.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $354.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $332.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WAT. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

About Waters

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.