Van ECK Associates Corp Has $185.35 Million Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 562,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,247 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.95% of Waters worth $185,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Waters by 55.3% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 118 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $298.67.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock traded down $3.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $311.30. 43,948 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,460. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $363.80. The stock has a market cap of $18.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.03, a P/E/G ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.02. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. Waters’s revenue was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.84 EPS. On average, 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.