Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Increased to $355.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price lifted by Evercore ISI from $335.00 to $355.00 in a report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an in-line rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WAT. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Waters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a hold rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $327.00.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $352.51 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $324.53. Waters has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $367.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.59, a PEG ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Waters by 148.6% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 259,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $85,498,000 after purchasing an additional 155,235 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,251,163,000 after buying an additional 64,525 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after purchasing an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $9,295,000. 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.