Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target increased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $315.00 to $385.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.20% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on Waters and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.92.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $1.36 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $365.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 138,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,641. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The firm has a market cap of $21.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $319.11 and a 200-day moving average of $325.09. Waters has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 19th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.29 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $608.55 million during the quarter. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 225.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth $266,384,000. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in 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 valued at $260,112,000 after acquiring an additional 614,877 shares during the last quarter. 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.