Flputnam Investment Management Co. Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Flputnam Investment Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Waters by 2.9% in the 1st 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, 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 hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WAT. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $408.00 to $475.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $420.35.

Waters Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $407.75 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $420.26. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $378.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.12. The stock has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 101.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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 EPS for the current 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.