Waters (NYSE:WAT) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $419.25 and last traded at $415.39, with a volume of 43083 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $414.44.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

Waters Trading Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.38, a current ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $382.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.52, a PEG ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Waters by 76.0% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 2,278 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $661,000 after buying an additional 984 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $9,295,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 69.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,012 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,277,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Waters by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 85,083 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $24,683,000 after buying an additional 809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

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.