6,949 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Acquired by Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,949 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,000. Waters comprises about 2.5% of Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth $33,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 63.2% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 186 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $390.40.

Waters Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $379.45 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $390.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. As a group, analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share 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.