Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Purchases 249 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,706 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at about $2,773,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,637,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $962,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 39.6% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $13,728,000 after purchasing an additional 11,823 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $310.58.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.1 %

WAT opened at $340.26 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters Co. has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $367.21. The company has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $308.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $323.31.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The business had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

Waters 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.