Brokerages Set Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) PT at $342.58

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $342.58.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,134.3% during the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 5,656 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 55.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,765 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Waters by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 443,493 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $152,664,000 after purchasing an additional 18,274 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,786,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $10,106,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $322.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $19.15 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.38 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $341.42 and a 200-day moving average of $324.75. Waters has a one year low of $234.04 and a one year high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

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

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.