Robert W. Baird Upgrades Waters (NYSE:WAT) to Outperform

Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has $407.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $396.00.

WAT has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $430.00 to $450.00 in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $397.40.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $367.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. Waters has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $388.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $372.10.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 593 shares during the period. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted 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 valued at $19,139,000 after acquiring an additional 50,966 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $128,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $22,948,000. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.