Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stock Position Increased by Signaturefd LLC

Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 497 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waters by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on WAT. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Stock Up 0.7 %

WAT stock opened at $365.75 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $390.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $371.28. 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 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 (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

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.