Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $390.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $380.00 to $390.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $391.07.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $385.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $22.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $390.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $368.21. Waters has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its position in Waters by 8,167.6% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 51,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $19,139,000 after purchasing an additional 50,966 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $128,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $22,948,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $223,000. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $328,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by 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.