Progressive Investment Management Corp Has $7.19 Million Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Progressive Investment Management Corp reduced its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 122 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for approximately 2.0% of Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Progressive Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Clean Yield Group raised its holdings in Waters by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 935 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 10,634.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 4,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,626,000 after purchasing an additional 4,892 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in Waters by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 582,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $191,628,000 after purchasing an additional 10,550 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 1,212 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Waters by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,348,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waters from $265.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, December 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.98% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 0.5 %

WAT stock opened at $335.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $336.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.34. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal 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.