Global Retirement Partners LLC Has $478,000 Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,329 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after buying an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Waters by 8.6% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,417,000 after purchasing an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Waters during the second quarter valued at $9,295,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at $10,106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 0.8 %

Waters stock opened at $345.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $324.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.51 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a PEG ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.