Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by Global Retirement Partners LLC

Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Waters by 37.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waters by 3,627.0% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after buying an additional 67,136 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $22,188,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $374.24 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.22 billion, a PE ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $388.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $366.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $390.40.

Waters Company Profile

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.