Savant Capital LLC Increases Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Savant Capital LLC increased its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 33.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $321.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $363.80. The firm has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $333.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $308.98.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The business had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.