Brokerages Set Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Target Price at $375.85

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have given a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $375.85.

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th.

Waters Trading Up 2.1 %

WAT stock opened at $368.16 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $367.05 and its 200 day moving average is $337.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $397.02. The company has a market capitalization of $21.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.4% in the second quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 7,841 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,275,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 3.2% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,084 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.