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

Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $298.67.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Barclays raised 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total value of $177,770.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $799,965. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,251,163,000 after purchasing an additional 64,525 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $361,839,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,092,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $299,563,000 after purchasing an additional 32,059 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Waters by 129.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $322,017,000 after purchasing an additional 550,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Waters by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 832,895 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $228,388,000 after purchasing an additional 212,754 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $319.86 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waters has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $363.80. The company has a market cap of $18.97 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a PEG ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $333.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.77.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $819.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $815.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The company’s revenue was down 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.84 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waters will post 11.89 EPS for the current 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.