Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Has $203,000 Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 546 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.31.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $368.53 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $386.70 and its 200-day moving average is $373.25. The stock has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year 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.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share 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.