Waters (NYSE:WAT) Given New $410.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at Bank of America from $430.00 to $410.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.20% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WAT. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $387.21.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $382.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $390.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $363.86. Waters has a 1-year low of $279.24 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Equities analysts predict that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 106,144.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $284,415,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $104,645,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Waters by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $984,582,000 after purchasing an additional 212,364 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Company Profile

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.