Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Position Boosted by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,292 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 2,648 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 38.1% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,926 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Waters by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 1,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $409,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Waters by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 367,916 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $136,490,000 after purchasing an additional 28,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Waters by 438.0% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $112,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,738 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.13.

Waters Stock Up 4.8 %

Shares of WAT opened at $331.27 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $358.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.81. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.