Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 12,247 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 562,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 12,247 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.95% of Waters worth $185,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Waters by 35.2% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 55.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 24,792 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $6,798,000 after purchasing an additional 829 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,298 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $4,195,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.6% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,953 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,729,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $6.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $308.92. 370,283 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 407,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.92. The business's fifty day moving average price is $334.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $298.67.

Waters 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.