Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Acquires Shares of 1,600 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $42,114,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $40,404,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of WAT traded down $4.69 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $377.46. 42,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 435,703. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $391.36 and a 200-day moving average of $370.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

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Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $391.07.

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.