Gilbert & Cook Inc. Purchases Shares of 591 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Gilbert & Cook Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 591 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Waters by 96.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Waters by 71.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Waters by 13.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $928,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Waters by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $417.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $386.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $357.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.81, a P/E/G ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters 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.