Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. Makes New $230,000 Investment in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. bought a new position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 300.0% during the third 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:WAT traded up $6.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $326.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 991,953 shares, compared to its average volume of 420,540. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $363.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $333.36 and its 200-day moving average is $310.25. The company has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released 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 firm 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%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.89 EPS for the current year.

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.