Guardian Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Guardian Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,225 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Waters by 7,120.8% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 189,401 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $70,264,000 after purchasing an additional 186,778 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $42,114,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $365.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business’s 50-day moving average is $390.80 and its 200 day moving average is $371.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. On average, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised 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, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

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.