Mission Wealth Management LP Has $1.19 Million Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,520,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $965,392,000 after acquiring an additional 48,740 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Waters by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,092,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $299,563,000 after purchasing an additional 32,059 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Waters by 129.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $322,017,000 after purchasing an additional 550,112 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,388,000 after buying an additional 212,754 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in shares of Waters by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 582,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $191,628,000 after buying an additional 10,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $315.92 on Thursday. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $334.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.42. The firm has a market cap of $18.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.12, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.98.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average 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.