Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Purchases 11,823 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 39.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,657 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,823 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC owned 0.07% of Waters worth $13,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at about $158,723,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in Waters by 129.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $322,017,000 after purchasing an additional 550,112 shares during the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at about $78,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Waters by 34.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $228,388,000 after purchasing an additional 212,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter valued at about $50,897,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE WAT traded up $2.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $311.30. 270,575 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 367,375. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $334.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.28. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $363.80. The firm has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.92. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $815.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.