Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Waters by 16.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in Waters by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,130,000 after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,173,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 133,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of WAT opened at $363.94 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $391.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $369.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Profile

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.