Waters (NYSE:WAT) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $411.75 and last traded at $409.71, with a volume of 51670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $404.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 23rd. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Bank of America raised their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $384.71.

Waters Stock Up 2.4 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $378.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $351.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.84 EPS. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Waters by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Waters by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,611,000 after buying an additional 2,086 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after buying an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Waters by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,944,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.