Laurion Capital Management LP Takes $441,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Laurion Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,188 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $441,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 54.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded 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. Ten 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded up $5.97 on Thursday, hitting $351.35. 533,250 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 477,606. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a PE ratio of 32.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $347.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $370.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS 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.