Man Group plc Buys 16,391 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Man Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 45.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,363 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,391 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.09% of Waters worth $19,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its position in Waters by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,565,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $199,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $359.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $346.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $370.88.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price target on Waters and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.19.

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.