Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Given Average Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $298.67.

A number of brokerages recently commented on WAT. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Armstrong Henry H Associates Inc. now owns 10,819 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,724,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in Waters by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,403 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,581,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its holdings in Waters by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 15.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 651 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $337.80 on Friday. Waters has a 52-week low of $231.90 and a 52-week high of $363.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market cap of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $337.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $304.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.06. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $815.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters will post 11.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

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.