GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Grows Position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,490 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 787 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $8,658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,015,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Waters by 60.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 5,098 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,479 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,849,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Baird R W raised Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock traded up $4.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $347.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 403,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 470,150. The business has a fifty day moving average of $344.74 and a 200-day moving average of $365.91. The company has a market cap of $20.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.11. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation 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.