Keybank National Association OH Buys 40 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,924 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Waters were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 235.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

Waters Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE WAT opened at $392.34 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $390.63 and a 200-day moving average of $368.92. The company has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.63, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters 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.