Flputnam Investment Management Co. Takes Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,689,208 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,076,263,000 after purchasing an additional 30,274 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,520,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $965,392,000 after buying an additional 48,740 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Waters by 37.2% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,018,487 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $538,008,000 after buying an additional 547,777 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Waters by 79.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,504,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $467,011,000 after acquiring an additional 666,851 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waters by 2.7% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,229,235 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $379,738,000 after acquiring an additional 32,360 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $294.23 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year 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’s 50 day moving average is $336.42 and its 200-day moving average is $305.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upped 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, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.67.

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.