Wells Fargo & Company Issues Positive Forecast for Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $415.00 to $420.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $390.40.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

WAT stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Thursday, reaching $380.51. 127,978 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,785. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $390.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $363.86. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56.

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

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Waters by 71.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $50,742,000 after acquiring an additional 58,983 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in Waters by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 12,874 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,776,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,439,000 after purchasing an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.