TD Cowen Raises Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target to $410.00

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective hoisted by TD Cowen from $363.00 to $410.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $365.85.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $386.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $345.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $327.56. Waters has a 52-week low of $246.35 and a 52-week high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,879,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,368,067,000 after purchasing an additional 41,654 shares in the last quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its stake in Waters by 1.1% in the first quarter. GUARDCAP ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 1,110,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $382,404,000 after purchasing an additional 11,851 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Waters by 1.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 659,539 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $219,811,000 after buying an additional 6,647 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 70.7% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after acquiring an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Waters by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.