Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $384.71.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in Waters by 54.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 32,633.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 982 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 22.4% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,663,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,544 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WAT stock opened at $380.96 on Friday. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $397.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $376.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $346.16. The company has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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.