M&T Bank Corp Boosts Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 35.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,709 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,485 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,055,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 19,900.0% during the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $378.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.46 billion, a PE ratio of 36.09, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $366.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.11. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $397.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $375.85.

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.