Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives $365.85 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $365.85.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $282,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 607 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Waters by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,647,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 106.4% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 661 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $386.57 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $356.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $332.60. The company has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 0.97. Waters has a one year low of $273.60 and a one year high of $395.44.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.