Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Position Increased by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped 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. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

Waters Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:WAT opened at $321.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $333.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.98. Waters Co. has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.