Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 64,548 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC owned 0.11% of Waters worth $22,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $28,000. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Waters by 118.9% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 81 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Steph & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth about $73,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Rothschild Redb raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 price target on Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn started coverage on Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $390.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price target on Waters and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.80.

Waters Stock Up 2.1%

Waters stock opened at $355.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.18 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.04. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $310.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $323.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $608.55 million during the quarter. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation 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.