Laurion Capital Management LP Takes Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Laurion Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,188 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $343.73 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $349.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.