Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 64,525 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,525 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of Waters worth $2,251,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Waters by 186.3% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $294.25 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $322.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $324.25.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.75% and a return on equity of 66.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.20.

Insider Activity

In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.