Lindbrook Capital LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 125.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $73,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Waters by 9.7% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,889 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,325,000 after buying an additional 4,936 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Waters by 295.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 127,879 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $42,102,000 after buying an additional 95,577 shares during the period. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 227,250 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $74,818,000 after buying an additional 41,638 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Waters by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after buying an additional 550,112 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its position in Waters by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 13,066 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,302,000 after buying an additional 3,194 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $298.67.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $310.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $335.35 and its 200-day moving average is $306.69. The company has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $231.90 and a 12 month high of $363.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In related news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

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.