Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Has $392,000 Stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC lowered its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 98.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,138 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 92,418 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $361,839,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $206,286,000. 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 worth $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 356.0% during the 4th quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 419,363 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $138,067,000 after acquiring an additional 327,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Waters by 215.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 425,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $139,995,000 after purchasing an additional 290,511 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Waters from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.20.

Insider Activity at Waters

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

Waters Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WAT traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $303.12. 113,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 445,375. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $311.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $321.44. The company has a market capitalization of $17.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.95.

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