Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Stake Lowered by Gotham Asset Management LLC

Gotham Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 43,041 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,301 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $15,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Scotiabank upgraded 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. 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. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $343.73 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $349.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.12.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal 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.