D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 94.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 4,651 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $3,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waters by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $57,579,000 after acquiring an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 994 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $1,649,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Waters by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 362 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $390.19.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded down $15.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $347.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 766,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,490. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $345.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $371.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.