Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 562,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,247 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $185,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IMPACTfolio LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC now owns 803 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID increased its stake in Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 11,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Waters by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 35.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock traded down $3.79 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $311.30. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 43,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,460. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. The stock has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $334.57 and a 200-day moving average of $308.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.67.

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.