Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Position Increased by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,586 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,510,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 274.3% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 16,275 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after purchasing an additional 11,927 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 40.1% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 262.0% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 724 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 524 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 35,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,610,000 after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Group Foundation lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 55,615 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $18,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.33.

Waters Trading Up 1.9 %

Waters stock opened at $326.06 on Wednesday. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $363.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $333.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $310.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.