Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $380.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $380.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target suggests a potential downside of 1.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WAT. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $325.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $358.83.

Waters Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded up $0.14 on Monday, hitting $387.35. 181,615 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 427,874. Waters has a 1-year low of $241.95 and a 1-year high of $391.00. The company has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $342.04 and its 200 day moving average is $325.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 20.71% and a return on equity of 56.81%. The company had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 11.6 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $7,619,000 after buying an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waters by 25.4% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at $72,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,387 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,231,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in shares of Waters by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 2,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.