Waters (NYSE:WAT) PT Raised to $330.00 at Barclays

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective upped by equities research analysts at Barclays from $300.00 to $330.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential downside of 6.86% from the stock’s current price.

WAT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective 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 reduced their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $338.36.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $354.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.29, a PEG ratio of 7.02 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day moving average of $341.94 and a 200-day moving average of $324.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 13,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.