Mather Group LLC. Boosts Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,556 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 169 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID grew its position in Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 11,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC grew its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waters by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,724,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during 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 purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of Waters stock traded up $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $330.97. 65,922 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,196. 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 $303.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.26. The company has a market cap of $19.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.58.

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.