Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives $301.20 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has received an average recommendation of “Reduce” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and ten have assigned a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $301.20.

A number of research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Waters from $295.00 to $275.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $320.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $317.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $304.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.83. Waters has a one year low of $231.90 and a one year high of $367.21. The firm has a market cap of $18.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.20, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.95.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 66.59% and a net margin of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Richard H. Fearon acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $332.90 per share, for a total transaction of $332,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.64, for a total value of $1,446,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,321,894.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Fearon bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $332.90 per share, with a total value of $332,900.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,653 shares in the company, valued at $550,283.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $382,404,000 after buying an additional 11,851 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $206,286,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Waters by 6.8% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 601,039 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $206,895,000 after buying an additional 38,046 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 582,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $191,628,000 after buying an additional 10,550 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.