Millstone Evans Group LLC Makes New Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,307 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,227,000. Waters makes up about 0.8% of Millstone Evans Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $63,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Eleven 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $365.75 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $390.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $371.06. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

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

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.