Sanford C. Bernstein Issues Positive Forecast for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target boosted by Sanford C. Bernstein from $345.00 to $360.00 in a research note released 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 recently commented on WAT. Leerink Partners upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

Waters Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE WAT traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $388.42. 20,010 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 429,515. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waters has a one year low of $241.95 and a one year high of $391.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $342.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $325.43. The company has a market capitalization of $23.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after buying an additional 41,654 shares during the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its holdings in Waters by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $382,404,000 after acquiring an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Waters by 1.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after acquiring an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% in 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. 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.