Waters Corporation $WAT Stock Position Lowered by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lessened its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,737 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtus Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at about $1,431,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $266,384,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Waters by 19.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 262,687 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $91,753,000 after acquiring an additional 41,908 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 56,432 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,697,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 43.2% in the second quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 28,518 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,954,000 after acquiring an additional 8,600 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Waters from $315.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Rothschild Redb raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on Waters and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $381.57.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $403.42 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.38, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $350.26 and a 200-day moving average of $330.58.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $608.55 million during the quarter. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.