Welch & Forbes LLC Acquires New Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Welch & Forbes LLC acquired a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,771 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,975,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Caitlin John LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 43.9% during the 2nd quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Waters by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 910 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 786 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co grew its stake in Waters by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $476.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $437.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $373.01. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $482.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 204.35, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.10. Waters had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 1.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 120.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $420.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $535.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $475.48.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation develops and supplies analytical instruments, software, and consumables used to identify, measure, and characterize chemical and biological materials. Its products include liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry systems, which help customers analyze complex samples. The company serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology businesses, academic and government laboratories, and customers in fields such as food, environmental testing, and materials science. Waters operates internationally, with customers and operations across multiple regions.