Waters (NYSE:WAT) Price Target Raised to $374.00 at Robert W. Baird

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $355.00 to $374.00 in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on Waters and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $390.19.

Waters Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of WAT opened at $344.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.14. 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 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $350.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $369.80.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. The firm had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $655.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 3,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,163,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 353 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during 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.