Waters (NYSE:WAT) Given New $295.00 Price Target at Barclays

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target cut by research analysts at Barclays from $300.00 to $295.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 9.30% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WAT. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Waters from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Waters from $319.00 to $312.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $306.70.

Waters Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Waters stock traded down $0.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $325.26. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 183,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 417,673. The stock has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 6.39 and a beta of 0.98. Waters has a twelve month low of $231.90 and a twelve month high of $363.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $333.23 and a 200-day moving average of $310.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $636.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $635.57 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.72% and a return on equity of 81.30%. The business’s revenue was down 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.49 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.89 EPS 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 dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $355.54, for a total transaction of $177,770.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $799,965. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 42,300 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,566,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,028 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $12,057,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD raised its holdings in Waters by 109.1% during the first quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 4,557 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,569,000 after purchasing an additional 2,378 shares in 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.