Flputnam Investment Management Co. Purchases New Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMPACTfolio LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC now owns 803 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased 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 acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,180 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Waters by 35.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 173 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Wetherby Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,645 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 3.3 %

Waters stock opened at $294.23 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $336.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.38. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. 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 report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.