4,044 Shares in Waters Corporation $WAT Acquired by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 4,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Fundsmith LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after acquiring an additional 347,091 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $602,921,000 after purchasing an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. raised its holdings in Waters by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. now owns 1,356,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $406,629,000 after purchasing an additional 135,504 shares during the period. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.68.

Waters Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE WAT opened at $369.65 on Tuesday. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a PE ratio of 46.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $347.97 and its 200 day moving average is $347.09.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Profile

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.