NorthRock Partners LLC Takes $404,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 211,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $78,554,000 after acquiring an additional 46,227 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 2,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3,349.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $112,928,000 after purchasing an additional 295,580 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,762 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,476,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurion Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $441,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT traded down $15.06 on Wednesday, reaching $347.04. 551,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 479,976. 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 Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $346.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $371.27.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.19.

About Waters

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.