North Star Asset Management Inc. Lowers Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

North Star Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,755 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 209 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 55.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the third quarter worth $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Waters by 300.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT traded up $2.66 on Monday, hitting $298.76. 67,158 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 403,556. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $335.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $306.11. The stock has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.