Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $15.34 Million Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 41,357 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $15,343,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 235.7% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 54.3% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.31.

Waters Stock Down 3.6 %

Waters stock opened at $355.43 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a PE ratio of 33.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $385.54 and its 200-day moving average is $373.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.