Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,316 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,316 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 79.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,504,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $467,011,000 after acquiring an additional 666,851 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Waters by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,623,726 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $707,174,000 after buying an additional 171,541 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in Waters by 18.6% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 719,183 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $193,841,000 after buying an additional 112,698 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Waters by 568.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 104,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,374,000 after buying an additional 88,700 shares during the period. Finally, Tikehau Investment Management purchased a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth about $18,313,000. Institutional investors own 88.58% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Mark P. Vergnano acquired 3,185 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $313.32 per share, for a total transaction of $997,924.20. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,557 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,114,479.24. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.77% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 1.7 %

WAT stock opened at $326.89 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $333.60 and a 200 day moving average of $317.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $265.61 and a 52 week high of $369.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.74 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $858.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $832.85 million. Waters had a net margin of 23.81% and a return on equity of 175.08%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WAT. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Waters from $334.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. They set a “hold” rating and a $350.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Waters from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Monday, November 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $354.00.

Waters Profile

(Get Rating)

Waters Corp. engages in the provision of workflow solutions involving liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis. It operates through the Waters and TA (TA Instruments) segments. The Waters segment consists of liquid chromatography instruments, mass spectrometry, and precision chemistry consumable products and services.