Waters (NYSE:WAT) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $411.75 and last traded at $409.71, with a volume of 51670 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $404.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $384.71.

View Our Latest Stock Report on WAT

Waters Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $378.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 1.01.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Fenimore Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc now owns 233,477 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $86,615,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Waters by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 1,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waters

(Get Free Report)

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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