SG Americas Securities LLC Has $10.39 Million Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 289.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,176 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 20,944 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 5,200.0% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WAT. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $346.59 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $341.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $368.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.11. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.