Vontobel Holding Ltd. Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 19,900.0% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 0.3 %

Waters stock opened at $348.45 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.71, a PEG ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $342.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $325.07.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $342.58.

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.