Evercore ISI Increases Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $355.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price hoisted by Evercore ISI from $335.00 to $355.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an in-line rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

WAT has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an overweight rating and a $380.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Waters from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a hold rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $327.00.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $352.51 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $337.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.53. The company has a market cap of $20.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.16 and a beta of 0.95. Waters has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $367.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 56.81% and a net margin of 20.71%. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $700.09 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Foguth Wealth Management LLC. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth approximately $2,773,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $962,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Waters by 2,134.3% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,921 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,251,163,000 after buying an additional 64,525 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Waters by 223.8% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,222 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 5,683 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.