Blue Trust Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 31 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 233,477 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $86,615,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $413.58 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $388.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $360.54. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.45 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

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.