Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 28 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waters by 71.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its position in Waters by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,776,000 after buying an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after buying an additional 27,801 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $380.94 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.57, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $388.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $365.29. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $390.40.

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.