Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,627 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,778 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after purchasing an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $508,123,000 after buying an additional 16,703 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 728,534 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $270,272,000 after buying an additional 72,515 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $373.07 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.83, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $390.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $371.85. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAT. UBS Group raised their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.