Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 15,924 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 348.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,924 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Waters in the second quarter worth $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $358.46 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.56 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $258.89 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $350.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $330.58.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Company 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.