Bailard Inc. Purchases 280 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Bailard Inc. grew its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $732,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAT. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,723,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Waters by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,388,000 after acquiring an additional 212,754 shares during the period. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,897,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $311.30 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $334.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $307.01. 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 cap of $18.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.92. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.