TIAA Trust National Association Has $366,000 Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

TIAA Trust National Association increased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,064 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Waters were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,773,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $2,637,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Waters by 295.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 127,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $42,102,000 after purchasing an additional 95,577 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $962,000. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Waters by 2,134.3% during the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT traded up $1.76 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $304.48. 215,897 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 444,180. The company has a market cap of $18.06 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.95. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $367.21. 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 50 day simple moving average of $309.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.87.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The firm 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on WAT. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.