Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Robert W. Baird

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Finviz reports. The firm currently has a $407.00 price target on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their prior price target of $396.00. Robert W. Baird’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 10.53% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $397.40.

Waters Stock Down 1.4 %

WAT stock opened at $368.21 on Wednesday. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $389.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.13.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,318 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in Waters by 8,167.6% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 51,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $19,139,000 after acquiring an additional 50,966 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $128,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $22,948,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

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.