Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $360.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price raised by Sanford C. Bernstein from $345.00 to $360.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $365.85.

Waters Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE WAT opened at $386.59 on Monday. Waters has a 12 month low of $241.95 and a 12 month high of $393.38. The company has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $344.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $326.73.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its 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. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the 2nd quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.