Blair William & Co. IL Acquires 226 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,281 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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 approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 235.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Waters by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.31.

Waters Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $355.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $385.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $373.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.