Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 2,635 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 192.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 76 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 76.7% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 106 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 75.5% during the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 165 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.58% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE WAT opened at $267.48 on Monday. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $261.01 and a 12 month high of $369.00. The stock has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $296.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($0.11). Waters had a net margin of 23.22% and a return on equity of 149.31%. The business had revenue of $684.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.86 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Mark P. Vergnano acquired 3,185 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $313.32 per share, with a total value of $997,924.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,114,479.24. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $288.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Barclays reduced their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $325.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $335.27.

Waters Company Profile

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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.