Waters (NYSE:WAT) Given New $410.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Waters (NYSE:WAT) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $405.00 to $410.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the medical instruments supplier’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays raised Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a report on Monday. TD Cowen increased 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. Cfra set a $389.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waters from $332.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $390.40.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $379.45 on Thursday. Waters has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $390.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $363.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.01.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,633,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,456 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its stake 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. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.7% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waters by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $537,053,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.