Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 290,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 54,144 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned approximately 0.30% of Waters worth $108,930,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Waters by 2.3% in the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have commented on WAT shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $475.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $420.35.
Check Out Our Latest Report on WAT
Insider Buying and Selling at Waters
In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.
Waters Price Performance
WAT stock opened at $410.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's fifty day moving average is $382.85 and its 200 day moving average is $347.24. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $421.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.
About Waters
(
Free Report)
Waters Corporation is a global provider of analytical instruments, software and services for laboratory and research applications. The company designs, manufactures and sells technologies centered on liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, separation science, and related sample preparation and detection systems. Its product portfolio includes chromatographs, mass spectrometers, columns and consumables, laboratory informatics and workflow software, as well as technical support and training services that help customers run and interpret complex analyses.
Waters serves a wide range of end markets that include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research and testing laboratories, academic and government research institutions, clinical diagnostics, food and environmental testing, and industrial and chemical manufacturers.
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