Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Cut to $410.00 by Analysts at Bank of America

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective decreased by Bank of America from $430.00 to $410.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $390.40.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $379.45 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $390.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. Waters has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 9.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the third quarter worth $238,000. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Waters by 6.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 31,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,260,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,782 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.