Empirical Finance LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 72 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $739,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $1,028,000. Advisory Alpha LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $363,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $1,786,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Waters by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Waters by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $302.40. The company had a trading volume of 276,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 447,864. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $312.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $321.78. The stock has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.75% and a return on equity of 66.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $301.20.

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.