Waters (NYSE:WAT) Now Covered by Scotiabank

Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report report published on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $430.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $379.71.

Waters Trading Up 0.4 %

WAT opened at $369.76 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s 50 day moving average is $367.26 and its 200-day moving average is $338.25. Waters has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $397.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 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 business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3,627.0% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.