Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA Acquires 797 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,262 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,092,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $299,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,059 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Waters by 129.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,388,000 after acquiring an additional 212,754 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Waters by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 582,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $191,628,000 after acquiring an additional 10,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,723,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was 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 owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock traded up $9.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $345.88. 255,808 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 417,908. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $332.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.03. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The stock has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.70.

Waters Company 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.