Fortitude Family Office LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 235.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after buying an additional 49,194 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $318,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $380.96 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $397.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $376.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.11.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

About Waters

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.