Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Holdings Increased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 758 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the acquisition, 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. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on 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 target price on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $310.58.

Waters Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Waters stock traded up $8.16 on Tuesday, hitting $336.99. 169,361 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 452,262. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $303.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.13. The company has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a PE ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current 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.