Tealwood Asset Management Inc. Takes $297,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Tealwood Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 800 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $297,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its stake in Waters by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after purchasing an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Waters by 0.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $219,811,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $398.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $377.07 and a 200-day moving average of $347.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $401.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.