Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $365.85.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth $282,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Waters by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,718 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 10.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,470 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 80,313 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $27,647,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 106.4% in the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,000 after buying an additional 661 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 0.5 %

WAT stock opened at $384.72 on Friday. Waters has a 12 month low of $276.84 and a 12 month high of $395.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $358.24 and its 200 day moving average is $333.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.84 billion, a PE ratio of 36.71, a P/E/G ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

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.