Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $2.36 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 251.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,551 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $649,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $5,194,000. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $22,188,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after purchasing an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

WAT opened at $415.66 on Monday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $24.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $386.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $358.70.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $384.71.

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.