Waters (NYSE:WAT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $399.31 and last traded at $395.50, with a volume of 51202 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $380.35.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

Waters Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $23.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $376.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after buying an additional 49,194 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,416,683 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $508,123,000 after purchasing an additional 16,703 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 885,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $318,717,000 after purchasing an additional 6,256 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.