Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $380.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $380.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

WAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $386.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters has a 1 year low of $246.35 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $345.80 and its 200-day moving average is $327.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results 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. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Waters by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 176,100 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $63,377,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 71.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after buying an additional 58,983 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 348.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 20,496 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,376,000 after buying an additional 15,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 2.4% during the third quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 8,032 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,891,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Company 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.