Summit Trail Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 28 shares during the quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,647,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 94,092 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,389,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 61.6% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 6,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,267,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth $10,106,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $388.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.83 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $355.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $332.34. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $273.60 and a 1 year high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

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.