Apollon Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 2,920 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,920 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $961,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake 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. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 3.9 %

Waters stock opened at $336.42 on Friday. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $363.80. The firm has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $332.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on WAT. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $306.70.

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.