Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Takes Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,600 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 16.5% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in Waters by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,141 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,130,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 133,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $48,149,000 after buying an additional 1,156 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Waters by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 5,471 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,969,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE WAT opened at $378.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $391.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $370.28. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $391.07.

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.