Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Procyon Advisors LLC

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 49.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 994 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Waters by 70.7% during 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. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 37.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 305,661 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $110,005,000 after purchasing an additional 82,865 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Waters by 21.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 3,627.0% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $403.85 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $23.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.66 and a beta of 1.01. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $411.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $378.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.63.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price on the stock. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

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.