Research analysts at Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) in a report issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set a $198.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Evercore ISI’s target price points to a potential upside of 0.12% from the stock’s previous close.
Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Deutsche Bank increased their target price on shares of Waters from $199.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Waters from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Waters from $188.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 25th. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 23rd. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, November 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $194.36.
Waters (NYSE:WAT) traded up $2.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $197.77. 271,720 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 313,460. Waters has a 52-week low of $134.69 and a 52-week high of $201.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $15,730.00, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 6.16, a quick ratio of 5.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.
In other news, SVP Rohit Khanna sold 26,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.93, for a total value of $5,326,890.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,707,088.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Elizabeth B. Rae sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.95, for a total transaction of $2,375,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,588,635.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 93,159 shares of company stock valued at $18,412,172. Insiders own 5.07% of the company’s stock.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.7% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 209,081 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $38,436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth approximately $3,446,000. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 6.0% in the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,145 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $210,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 46.7% in the second quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 374,472 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $68,843,000 after acquiring an additional 119,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 3.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,515,322 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,013,936,000 after acquiring an additional 165,611 shares during the last quarter. 92.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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Waters Company Profile
Waters Corporation is an analytical instrument manufacturer. The Company operates through two segments: Waters and TA. It designs, manufactures, sells and services high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC and together with HPLC, referred to as LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products and post-warranty service plans.
