Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Bought by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 130.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,302 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 23,418 shares during the period. Waters comprises approximately 1.0% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC owned 0.07% of Waters worth $13,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waters

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.67.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $308.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 381,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 410,762. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $335.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.70. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $363.80. The company has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

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.

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