Waters (NYSE:WAT) Lifted to “Outperform” at SVB Leerink

SVB Leerink upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. SVB Leerink currently has $375.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their prior price target of $325.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a hold rating and a $320.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $310.58.

Waters Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of WAT traded down $18.33 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $334.20. 90,399 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 449,349. The company has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a PE ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.95. Waters has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $303.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $321.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.30.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $709.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 60.77% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares in the company, valued at $5,321,894.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $361,839,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,286,000. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 356.0% during the fourth quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 419,363 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $138,067,000 after acquiring an additional 327,389 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 215.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 425,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $139,995,000 after acquiring an additional 290,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 1,095.5% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 200,705 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $66,078,000 after acquiring an additional 183,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.