Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $376.80.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Rothschild Redb upgraded Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Redburn Partners set a $390.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth about $266,384,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its stake in shares of Waters by 676.8% during the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 705,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $260,112,000 after acquiring an additional 614,877 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Waters by 93.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 572,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $211,125,000 after acquiring an additional 276,433 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth about $94,028,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WAT opened at $335.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $305.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $322.88. The stock has a market cap of $19.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 1.04. Waters has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 earnings per share for the quarter. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The firm had revenue of $608.55 million during the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.