National Pension Service Boosts Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 107,359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,857 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Waters were worth $32,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 77.7% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 435 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Waters by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 17,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,273,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 8,647 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,774,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 9,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Waters by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 6,789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $440.00 target price for the company. Finally, HSBC assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $398.61.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $379.45 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $390.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $344.71. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $417.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $22.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.18.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.19. Waters had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 36.59%. The business had revenue of $799.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.

Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.