Teza Capital Management LLC Purchases New Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,604 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,708,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:WAT opened at $359.38 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $346.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Waters’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America cut their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

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.