Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $407.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous target price of $396.00.

WAT has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $397.40.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $361.61 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $387.41 and its 200 day moving average is $372.29. Waters has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The firm has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in Waters by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 3,916 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,340 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 17.8% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 5,349 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Waters by 6.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 31,288 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $11,260,000 after buying an additional 1,929 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 59.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 503 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.