Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Updates for Waters (WAT)

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for Waters (NYSE: WAT):

• 5/12/2023 – Waters was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 5/10/2023 – Waters had its price target lowered by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $345.00 to $315.00.
• 5/10/2023 – Waters had its price target lowered by analysts at Bank of America Co. from $350.00 to $315.00.
• 5/10/2023 – Waters had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $345.00 to $305.00.
• 5/10/2023 – Waters had its price target lowered by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $345.00 to $288.00.
• 5/10/2023 – Waters had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $350.00 to $325.00.
• 5/4/2023 – Waters was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.
• 4/9/2023 – Waters was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating.
• 4/4/2023 – Waters had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $385.00 to $350.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 4/1/2023 – Waters was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating.

Waters Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $259.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $293.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $318.24. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $252.18 and a 12-month high of $369.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. The stock has a market cap of $15.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.85.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.60 by ($0.11). Waters had a net margin of 23.22% and a return on equity of 149.31%. The business had revenue of $684.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $697.86 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Mark P. Vergnano purchased 3,185 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $313.32 per share, for a total transaction of $997,924.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,557 shares in the company, valued at $1,114,479.24. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.98% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hikari Tsushin Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 25.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hikari Tsushin Inc. now owns 6,265 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,265 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 44.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 27,280 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,353,000 after purchasing an additional 8,339 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $1,603,000. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 8,310 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.58% of the company’s stock.

Waters Corp. engages in the provision of workflow solutions involving liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis. It operates through the Waters and TA (TA Instruments) segments. The Waters segment consists of liquid chromatography instruments, mass spectrometry, and precision chemistry consumable products and services.