Forte Capital LLC ADV Increases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 17.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV’s holdings in Waters were worth $712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,028,000. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Waters by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,457 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $469,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth $256,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $386.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $345.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $327.56. The stock has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97. Waters Co. has a one year low of $246.35 and a one year high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

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.