Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 398,527 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,886 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $147,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth about $42,114,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Waters by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Waters by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 714,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,937,000 after buying an additional 68,509 shares during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after buying an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $392.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.63, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $390.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $368.33. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

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.