Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance Decreases Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance reduced its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 160 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance’s holdings in Waters were worth $228,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Waters by 79.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,504,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $467,011,000 after purchasing an additional 666,851 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $215,981,000. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at $158,723,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Waters by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $322,017,000 after buying an additional 550,112 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Waters by 37.2% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,018,487 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $538,008,000 after buying an additional 547,777 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock traded down $3.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $316.51. 113,205 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 396,236. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $337.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.19. Waters Co. has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $363.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 0.92.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released 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. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The company had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.84 EPS. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.77% 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.