Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 233,477 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $86,615,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waters by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WAT opened at $415.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $386.96 and its 200 day moving average is $358.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.66, a P/E/G ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released 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. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share 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.