Waters (NYSE:WAT) PT Raised to $330.00 at Barclays

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $300.00 to $330.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the medical instruments supplier's stock.

WAT has been the topic of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $310.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Waters from $325.00 to $363.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $338.36.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $360.00. 394,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 423,557. Waters has a 1-year low of $231.90 and a 1-year high of $367.21. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.93 and a beta of 0.95. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $341.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $324.78.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $709.00 million during 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%. Waters's revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 11.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 190.2% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 119 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 19,900.0% in the second quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 200 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.