Perbak Capital Partners LLP Invests $1.36 Million in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,654 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,356,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its position in Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.13.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $340.10 on Tuesday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. 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 $20.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $355.22 and a 200-day moving average of $370.45.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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.