Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $360.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target raised by Sanford C. Bernstein from $345.00 to $360.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has a market perform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WAT opened at $386.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $345.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $327.56. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $246.35 and a fifty-two week high of $393.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Waters by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 25.4% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.9% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,231,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 71.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.