Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp Purchases Shares of 114 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

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

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $370.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $388.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $372.08. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.40.

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.