Syon Capital LLC Invests $301,000 in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 811 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $17,236,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Waters by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 84,139 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $31,215,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its stake in Waters by 624.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 11,928 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,425,000 after purchasing an additional 10,281 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Waters by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 218,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $81,083,000 after purchasing an additional 7,964 shares during the period. Finally, J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $332,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock traded down $4.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $342.91. The stock had a trading volume of 197,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,442. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The stock's 50 day moving average is $353.89 and its 200 day moving average is $370.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Waters from $407.00 to $355.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 31st. 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.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $392.13.

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.