Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,585 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 174.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% during 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 during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Waters by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $376.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $389.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $365.09. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.40.

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.