Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $70.26 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7,120.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 186,778 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Waters were worth $70,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 497 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Waters by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 856 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its position in Waters by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 9,373 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Waters by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $1,540,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $381.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $391.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $370.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

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.