Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price target boosted by Robert W. Baird from $219.00 to $220.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s target price indicates a potential upside of 0.85% from the company’s current price.
Several other brokerages have also recently commented on WAT. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waters from $190.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Investment Research cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 6th. Barclays restated a “hold” rating and set a $202.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, January 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Waters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $203.75.
Shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, reaching $218.14. 381,112 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 474,299. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $139.81 and a fifty-two week high of $218.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $17,275.37, a PE ratio of 1,148.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 2.10 and a quick ratio of 5.71.
In other Waters news, SVP Mark T. Beaudouin sold 42,143 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.21, for a total value of $9,153,881.03. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,749 shares in the company, valued at $4,506,890.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Terricciano sold 21,997 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.52, for a total transaction of $4,344,847.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,173 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,811,850.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 108,389 shares of company stock valued at $22,239,163. Corporate insiders own 5.07% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 5.9% in the second quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 3,575 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $657,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 3.6% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,998 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 3.3% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 9,745 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 290.5% during the 2nd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,428 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $998,000 after buying an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,165,827 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $214,326,000 after buying an additional 79,824 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.18% of the company’s stock.
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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.
