Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 90,856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,076 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for approximately 0.9% of OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $33,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Waters by 7,120.8% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $70,264,000 after acquiring an additional 186,778 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,114,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 0.8 %

WAT opened at $381.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $22.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $391.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $370.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.07.

Waters 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.