Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded at Barclays

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

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $388.64.

Waters Stock Performance

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

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth about $605,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 9.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,181 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of Waters by 241.8% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 499 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $180,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Waters by 42.9% in the third quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 30,771 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $11,074,000 after purchasing an additional 9,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.