Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on Waters (NYSE:WAT)

Equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WAT. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Barclays increased their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $310.58.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock traded up $0.18 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $336.77. 208,025 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 437,057. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $19.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $312.75 and its 200-day moving average is $323.75. Waters has a 52 week low of $231.90 and a 52 week high of $367.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waters will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,773,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $2,637,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $962,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,134.3% in the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after purchasing an additional 5,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 357,257 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $117,620,000 after purchasing an additional 13,093 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.