JPL Wealth Management LLC Makes New $1.25 Million Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,249,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 300.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $41,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target 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 lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $295.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $305.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at $799,965. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of WAT traded down $2.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $349.42. 255,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 420,510. The company has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $231.90 and a 12-month high of $367.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.11.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.75% and a return on equity of 66.59%. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.49 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.86 EPS for the current year.

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.