SG Americas Securities LLC Has $10.39 Million Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 289.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,176 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,944 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,966,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,114,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.19.

Waters Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:WAT opened at $346.59 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $20.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $368.53. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.