Barclays Boosts Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $360.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target raised by Barclays from $330.00 to $360.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on WAT. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $386.17 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $345.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $327.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters has a one year low of $246.35 and a one year high of $393.38. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. Waters’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waters will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.