Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 13.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Waters by 25.8% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,526 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,145,000 after purchasing an additional 8,305 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 5.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 530,697 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $195,599,000 after buying an additional 28,018 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 4.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Waters by 7.0% in the second quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 22,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,005,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,244,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE WAT opened at $343.69 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $314.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $324.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.75. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.99, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector outperform” rating and issued a $465.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 11th. Rothschild Redb upgraded Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.80.

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.