Peak Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $3.06 Million Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,292 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,056,000. Waters makes up 1.6% of Peak Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA grew its position in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 3,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,163,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 744 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $349.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $341.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $369.03.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Baird R W raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.19.

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.