Waters (NYSE:WAT) Receives "Equal Weight" Rating from Wells Fargo & Company

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reissued by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $330.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier's stock, down from their previous price objective of $420.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price target suggests a potential upside of 8.58% from the company's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WAT. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Waters in a report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $383.31.

Waters Stock Down 13.9%

WAT stock opened at $303.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 1.10. Waters has a 52 week low of $297.14 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The company's 50-day moving average price is $349.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $363.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 22.02% and a return on equity of 41.70%. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. Waters's revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 129.3% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 13,077 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,851,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 54.3% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,114 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $413,000 after buying an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

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.

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