Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Acquires Shares of 877 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 877 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,254,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 52,363 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 16,391 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $726,000. NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $404,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in Waters by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 211,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $78,554,000 after purchasing an additional 46,227 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $359.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $346.71 and a 200-day moving average of $370.88. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

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.