Fortitude Family Office LLC Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 235.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Waters by 669.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $207,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Waters by 37.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $110,005,000 after buying an additional 82,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $380.96 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $345.11. The stock has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $397.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.71.

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.