Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $360.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 price objective on Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. KeyCorp upgraded Waters from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $460.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Barclays reduced their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $388.00.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $350.22. The company had a trading volume of 251,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 471,262. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $349.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $364.23. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.84 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.10.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a return on equity of 41.70% and a net margin of 22.02%. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waters will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,587 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,331,000 after buying an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 85.7% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $605,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.1% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,774,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Waters by 169.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $4,283,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares during the period. 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.