Forte Capital LLC ADV Boosts Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Forte Capital LLC ADV grew its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Waters were worth $455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 262.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 724 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 524 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 35,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,610,000 after buying an additional 2,818 shares during the last quarter. LGT Group Foundation increased its stake in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 55,615 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $18,507,000 after buying an additional 1,741 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 9,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,050,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT traded up $5.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $321.25. 507,996 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 405,587. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $363.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $333.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.98.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.