Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 1,450 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 31.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,025 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,450 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Waters by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 21,130 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,957,000 after acquiring an additional 5,832 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Waters by 125.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc increased its stake in Waters by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 229,398 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $75,525,000 after purchasing an additional 27,547 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 8,462 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,786,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $299.23 on Tuesday. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $363.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $335.46 and a 200 day moving average of $306.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target 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 price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.