Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $401.31.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAT. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,331,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 34.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $57,579,000 after buying an additional 41,339 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,704 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Waters by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,578 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Waters by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 421,691 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,439,000 after acquiring an additional 27,801 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $344.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $383.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $373.18. Waters has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Equities research 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.