1,160 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Bought by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,160 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $417,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.58.

Waters Stock Up 1.1 %

WAT stock traded up $3.66 on Monday, reaching $328.21. 41,784 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 419,956. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $342.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.80. The company has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a one year low of $234.04 and a one year high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.6 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.