114 Shares in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Bought by Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 114 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $42,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,633,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Waters by 106,144.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Waters by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after purchasing an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waters by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $508,123,000 after buying an additional 16,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $370.19 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $388.26 and its 200 day moving average is $372.08.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.40.

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.