Waters (NYSE:WAT) PT Lowered to $312.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $319.00 to $312.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target indicates a potential downside of 7.26% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WAT. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $306.70.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $336.42 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $332.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.03. Waters has a 1 year low of $231.90 and a 1 year high of $363.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.01, a PEG ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. Waters had a return on equity of 81.30% and a net margin of 21.72%. The business had revenue of $636.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $635.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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. 0.82% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 144 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during 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.