Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $325.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target increased by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from $310.00 to $325.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on WAT. Leerink Partners raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $365.85.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $1.72 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $385.62. 36,425 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,515. Waters has a 1 year low of $241.95 and a 1 year high of $391.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $342.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $325.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.59 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waters will post 11.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 133,788 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $48,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 3.5% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 51.6% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 911 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $328,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.