Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Acquires 482 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,114,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,404,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $365.75 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $390.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $371.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upgraded Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

Waters Company 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.