ProShare Advisors LLC Acquires 948 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 8.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 10.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,977 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,165,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Group One Trading L.P. acquired a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $135,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in Waters by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,535,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 294,027 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $91,287,000 after purchasing an additional 4,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 39.4% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 4,626 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after acquiring an additional 1,308 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $273.39 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $278.35 and a 200-day moving average of $281.87. The firm has a market cap of $16.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.87. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $248.18 and a 1-year high of $353.70.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.21. Waters had a net margin of 22.54% and a return on equity of 124.03%. The business had revenue of $740.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $733.51 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.24 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.48, for a total value of $1,165,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,192,065.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.13.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation, a specialty measurement company, 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.