Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Waters (NYSE:WAT) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $390.40.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock traded down $9.40 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $369.71. The stock had a trading volume of 471,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,327. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $389.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $364.87. Waters has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 1.38.

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

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,633,464,000 after purchasing an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 106,144.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,145,386,000 after buying an additional 3,084,555 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $984,582,000 after buying an additional 212,364 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,577,733 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $927,700,000 after buying an additional 49,194 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $537,053,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares in the last quarter. 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.