The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Boosts Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 161 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.14% of Waters worth $30,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Family Office LLC grew its position in Waters by 22.0% in the third quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 922 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 12.1% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,697 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,850,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Counsel LLC now owns 15,088 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,430,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 503 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $384.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $358.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $333.35. The stock has a market cap of $22.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $276.84 and a fifty-two week high of $395.44.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

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.