Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 5,669 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,669 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $21,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 10.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,165,000 after acquiring an additional 645 shares during the period. Group One Trading L.P. bought a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its position in Waters by 6.6% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Waters by 1.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 294,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $91,287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC lifted its position in Waters by 39.4% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. 88.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $267.48 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $296.63 and a 200 day moving average of $319.58. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $261.01 and a 52 week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The firm has a market capitalization 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.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) last issued 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 return on equity of 149.31% and a net margin of 23.22%. The company had revenue of $684.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $697.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $288.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $335.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,114,479.24. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

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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.