Waters (NYSE:WAT) Rating Increased to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report released on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $415.00 price objective on the medical instruments supplier’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $360.00.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $430.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $388.64.

Waters Trading Down 5.6 %

Waters stock opened at $382.45 on Monday. Waters has a 52 week low of $279.24 and a 52 week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.49, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $390.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $363.86.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 40,950 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $15,192,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Waters by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,962 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in Waters by 65.3% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 1,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $525,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,460 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $542,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.