Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Holdings Raised by Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI

Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI grew its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,407 shares during the period. Waters makes up 3.1% of Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Schaper Benz & Wise Investment Counsel Inc. WI owned approximately 0.18% of Waters worth $38,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $392,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Waters by 7.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,403 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth about $3,558,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WAT. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $342.58.

Waters Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE WAT opened at $348.45 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $342.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $325.07. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $367.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.85 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.