2,139 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Purchased by Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C

Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 712 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,864 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,832,000 after acquiring an additional 2,671 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in Waters by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,948 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $971,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Waters by 42.1% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 25,915 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,532,000 after acquiring an additional 7,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $380.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.50.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $355.73 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $367.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a PE ratio of 34.91, a P/E/G ratio of 5.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $332.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $324.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 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.