Waters (NYSE:WAT) Shares Gap Up to $299.23

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $299.23, but opened at $309.99. Waters shares last traded at $308.34, with a volume of 54,170 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waters from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waters from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $298.67.

Waters Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 6.23 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $335.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.69.

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

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Linda Baddour sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,837,662 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,251,163,000 after acquiring an additional 64,525 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Waters by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,520,629 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $965,392,000 after acquiring an additional 48,740 shares during the period. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $361,839,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Waters by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,092,459 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $299,563,000 after acquiring an additional 32,059 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Waters by 129.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 973,537 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $322,017,000 after acquiring an additional 550,112 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.