Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by Venturi Wealth Management LLC

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 174.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Waters by 34.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in Waters by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 71.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $50,742,000 after acquiring an additional 58,983 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Waters by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,776,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $390.40.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock traded down $6.57 on Friday, hitting $374.24. The stock had a trading volume of 272,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 452,951. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week 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. The stock has a market cap of $22.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day moving average price is $388.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $365.29.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.