GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 16.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,348,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 10,634.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,626,000 after buying an additional 4,892 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $9,848,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,189 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WAT. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays upped 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 Thursday, August 1st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the acquisition, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of Waters stock traded up $8.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $336.99. 169,361 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,262. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 2.10. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $303.82 and its 200 day moving average is $322.13.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. Waters’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

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.