Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $375.85.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WAT. Barclays increased 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. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after buying an additional 77,951 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 3,627.0% during the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,828,000 after acquiring an additional 67,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters by 71.9% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 140,992 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $50,742,000 after purchasing an additional 58,983 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Trading Up 2.1 %

Waters stock opened at $368.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $367.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $338.04. Waters has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $397.02. The stock has a market cap of $21.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G 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.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.