TIAA Trust National Association Acquires 93 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

TIAA Trust National Association boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,047 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Waters were worth $388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $361.61 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $387.41 and a 200-day moving average of $372.29. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WAT. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.40.

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.