Barclays Raises Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $300.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price upped by Barclays from $275.00 to $300.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a hold rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. SVB Leerink upgraded Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and raised their price target for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $310.58.

Waters Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $345.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $303.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Waters has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $700.09 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Waters will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total transaction of $1,446,560.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,321,894.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its position in Waters by 1.1% during the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after buying an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.6% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,417,000 after acquiring an additional 51,853 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,286,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 582,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $191,628,000 after acquiring an additional 10,550 shares during the period. 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.