LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 33.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,364 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 5,078 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $7,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Waters by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $199,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Waters Stock Performance
Shares of Waters stock traded down $22.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $314.30. The company had a trading volume of 858,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,331. 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 Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $18.67 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $370.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $372.47.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, 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 several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $397.25.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on WAT
Waters Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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