Advisory Alpha LLC Has $395,000 Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Waters by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 1,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,441 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,922,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 6,829 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,533,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 964 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $408.40 on Thursday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $416.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $379.89 and its 200 day moving average is $352.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a market capitalization of $24.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current 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.