one8zero8 LLC Takes $1.54 Million Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,540,000.

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 Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 235.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $378.18 on Friday. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $391.24 and a 200-day moving average of $370.28. The company has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a PE ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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