Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $360.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Barclays from $330.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s target price suggests a potential downside of 7.03% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $345.08.

Waters Trading Up 19.8 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $387.21 on Monday. Waters has a 1 year low of $241.40 and a 1 year high of $389.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 38.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $342.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waters will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $59,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.