Savant Capital LLC Buys 63 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $632,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at $35,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 63.2% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $390.40.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $369.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The business has a 50-day moving average of $389.84 and a 200-day moving average of $364.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS 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.