Crestwood Advisors Group LLC Has $347,000 Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Crestwood Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 965 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after buying an additional 100,811 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after purchasing an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,295,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $386.59 on Thursday. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $241.95 and a 1-year high of $393.38. The company has a market cap of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $344.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $326.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.