WBI Investments LLC Acquires 3,164 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

WBI Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 327.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,129 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,164 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,415,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Waters by 3,349.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $112,928,000 after acquiring an additional 295,580 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $104,645,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Waters by 438.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $112,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,738 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Up 2.2%

Waters stock opened at $359.38 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $346.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $371.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.