Waters (NYSE:WAT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $395.44 and last traded at $390.59, with a volume of 147409 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $388.15.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $357.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $332.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $927,700,000 after buying an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $508,123,000 after buying an additional 16,703 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after buying an additional 6,256 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by 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.