GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires 787 Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,490 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 787 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 5,200.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 106 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waters by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $342.95 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.12, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $344.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $365.91. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

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.