Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $236.10 Million Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $236,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE WAT opened at $360.63 on Friday. 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 market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $367.05 and a 200-day moving average of $337.42. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $397.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $375.85.

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.