Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 624.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 10,281 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P.’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in 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 last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $392.13.

Waters Stock Down 0.8 %

WAT stock opened at $337.96 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $355.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $370.35.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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.