Natixis Advisors L.P. Grows Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,818 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned about 0.06% of Waters worth $11,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 300.0% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $326.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a PEG ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $333.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.76. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.