D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Buys 4,651 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 94.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 4,651 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $359.38 on Monday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $346.71 and a 200-day moving average of $371.53. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

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.