Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Acquired by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2,134.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,656 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,251,163,000 after acquiring an additional 64,525 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $361,839,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Waters by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,388,000 after acquiring an additional 212,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $206,286,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $284.49 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $315.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.60. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.57 million. Waters had a return on equity of 66.59% and a net margin of 20.75%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.49 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,283.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. Barclays lowered their price target on Waters from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $301.20.

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.