Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,441 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,922,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,829 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 964 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 362 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,649,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Friday, January 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters Trading Up 1.0 %

Waters stock opened at $412.52 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $416.24. The company has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.36, a P/E/G ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $380.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $353.15.

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

Waters Company 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.