GF Fund Management CO. LTD. Makes New $544,000 Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,467 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $544,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $6.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $348.88. The stock had a trading volume of 140,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,932. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $343.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $369.69.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.