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Trade Alert: The Independent Director Of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT), Mark Vergnano, Has Just Spent US$998k Buying 856% More Shares

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Independent Director, Mark Vergnano, recently bought a whopping US$998k worth of stock, at a price of US$313. That purchase boosted their holding by 856%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

View our latest analysis for Waters

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Waters

Notably, that recent purchase by Mark Vergnano is the biggest insider purchase of Waters shares that we've seen in the last year. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at around the current price of US$321. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. The good news for Waters share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. Mark Vergnano was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

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You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

insider-trading-volume
insider-trading-volume

Waters is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Insider Ownership Of Waters

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Waters insiders own about US$79m worth of shares. That equates to 0.4% of the company. While this is a strong but not outstanding level of insider ownership, it's enough to indicate some alignment between management and smaller shareholders.

So What Does This Data Suggest About Waters Insiders?

The recent insider purchase is heartening. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. Insiders likely see value in Waters shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. You'd be interested to know, that we found 1 warning sign for Waters and we suggest you have a look.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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