Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC Buys 661 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 106.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,839,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $206,286,000. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 356.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 419,363 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $138,067,000 after buying an additional 327,389 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Waters by 215.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 425,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $139,995,000 after buying an additional 290,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Waters by 1,095.5% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 200,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $66,078,000 after buying an additional 183,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the business’s 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.20.

Waters Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WAT stock traded up $3.58 on Monday, hitting $321.54. The company had a trading volume of 556,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 443,844. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market cap of $19.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 66.59% and a net margin of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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.