PFG Investments LLC Buys 35 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. IMPACTfolio LLC raised its position in Waters by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. IMPACTfolio LLC now owns 803 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID increased its position in Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers Inc. ID now owns 11,469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,776,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Waters by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 0.4% during the first quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,724,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Waters by 55.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE WAT traded down $6.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $308.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 370,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 407,417. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.02. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.48, a PEG ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.