Waters (NYSE:WAT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.40.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $370.19 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $388.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $372.08. Waters has a 52-week low of $279.24 and a 52-week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

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

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.