Waters (NYSE:WAT) Rating Increased to Outperform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note published on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $430.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on WAT. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $384.71.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $380.96 on Friday. Waters has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $397.02. The firm has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.35, a PEG ratio of 6.92 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $376.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $346.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Waters by 96.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 868 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 427 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Waters by 8.6% in the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 26,234 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $7,611,000 after acquiring an additional 2,086 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 21.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $130,053,000 after acquiring an additional 77,951 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Waters by 34.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 159,995 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $57,579,000 after purchasing an additional 41,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at about $2,944,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.