Waters (NYSE:WAT) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Scotiabank raised Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.40.

Waters Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Waters stock opened at $361.61 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $387.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $372.29. Waters has a 1 year low of $279.24 and a 1 year high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company has a market cap of $21.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 235.7% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Waters by 129.3% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 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.