Apollon Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,258 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth approximately $256,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Waters by 0.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,028 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,057,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 42,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Waters by 8.8% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 69,979 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,089,000 after buying an additional 5,655 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Leerink Partnrs raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $376.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a P/E/G ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $350.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $330.13. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $258.89 and a 1-year high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued 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 company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

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.