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

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $384.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Scotiabank started coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $430.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT traded up $6.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $380.96. The stock had a trading volume of 585,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 377,142. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Waters has a 12 month low of $279.24 and a 12 month high of $397.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $376.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.84 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,909 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Waters by 32,633.3% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 982 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 22.4% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,912 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.6% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 22,968 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $6,663,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,544 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,769,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

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.