Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stock Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,030 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Waters were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter worth $25,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter worth $28,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Waters by 190.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $93,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 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, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.58.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $342.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.60, a PEG ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. Waters Co. has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $367.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $310.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.60.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.80 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.