Boston Family Office LLC Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Boston Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 991 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Waters by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Waters by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after purchasing an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $537,053,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 3.6 %

Waters stock opened at $355.43 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $385.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $373.45. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The stock has a market cap of $21.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Bank of America cut their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned 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 an average price target of $401.31.

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.