First Manhattan CO. LLC. Takes $362,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. purchased a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 975 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $362,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $349.55 and a 200-day moving average of $370.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.09, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

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