First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 22.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in Waters during the third quarter valued at about $158,723,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the period. Findlay Park Partners LLP bought a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $78,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 34.3% in the third 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, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,369,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $321.25 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $333.50 and its 200 day moving average is $308.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a PEG ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.98. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.