Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Cut to $275.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price reduced by Barclays from $295.00 to $275.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. They set a hold rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $305.20.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $289.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $316.59 and a 200-day moving average of $323.85. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $231.90 and a fifty-two week high of $367.21. The stock has a market cap of $17.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.75% and a return on equity of 66.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Waters will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.1% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Waters by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after purchasing an additional 550,112 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 34.3% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,388,000 after purchasing an additional 212,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $206,286,000. 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.