MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Grows Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,762 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Waters by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Waters by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $359.38 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $346.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.53.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters 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.