Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 73 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waters by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.31.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $368.53 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $386.70 and a 200-day moving average of $373.25. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 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.