Waters (NYSE:WAT) Given New $420.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $415.00 to $420.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

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

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $379.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $22.53 billion, a PE ratio of 36.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. Waters has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $390.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $363.96.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released 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 net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Waters by 438.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 303,076 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $112,435,000 after purchasing an additional 246,738 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $376,000. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 95.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

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.