Shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 494,222 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the previous session's volume of 485,455 shares.The stock last traded at $299.83 and had previously closed at $304.18.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Barclays cut their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $330.00 target price (down from $420.00) on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector outperform" rating and set a $465.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $383.31.
View Our Latest Research Report on Waters
Waters Stock Down 4.7%
The stock has a 50 day moving average of $347.75 and a 200-day moving average of $362.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.81.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. The business had revenue of $661.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $655.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,680,334,000 after purchasing an additional 173,584 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Waters by 15.7% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,070,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,131,757,000 after buying an additional 416,669 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Waters by 6.3% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,066,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $761,643,000 after buying an additional 123,215 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Waters by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $537,053,000 after purchasing an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Waters by 14.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,112,128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $409,897,000 after purchasing an additional 136,396 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.
About Waters
(
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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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