Lbp Am Sa Takes Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Lbp Am Sa purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,138,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Up 3.8 %

Shares of WAT opened at $378.18 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $391.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.28. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share 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%. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

Waters 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.