Waters (NYSE:WAT) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Scotiabank from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $450.00 target price on the medical instruments supplier's stock, up from their prior target price of $430.00. Scotiabank's target price points to a potential upside of 21.72% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Waters from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Waters from $363.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $390.40.

Waters Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of WAT stock traded down $9.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $369.71. The company had a trading volume of 471,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 408,327. The company has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $389.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $364.75.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 49.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,415,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 3,349.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 304,404 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $112,928,000 after acquiring an additional 295,580 shares during the period. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,645,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 70.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.