Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Grows Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. increased its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 28,233 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 11,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 111 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Waters by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $319.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.92 billion, a PE ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.92. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $337.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.67.

Waters Company Profile

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.