Eagle Bay Advisors LLC Invests $72,000 in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 194 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $72,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Waters by 669.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 4.8 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $398.71 on Tuesday. 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 $377.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $347.34. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $401.00. The company has a market capitalization of $23.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.04, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.71.

About Waters

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.