Pinebridge Investments L.P. Has $4.43 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 624.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 10,281 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s holdings in Waters were worth $4,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its stake in Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 0.3% in 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. grew its stake in Waters by 9.6% in 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 stake in Waters by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $340.10. The company had a trading volume of 308,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,776. 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. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $355.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $370.45. The stock has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $392.13.

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.