Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 4,983 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 71.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Waters by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Waters by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after buying an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $378.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $369.78. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $22.46 billion, a PE ratio of 35.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. UBS Group raised their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

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.