Trust Co. of Vermont Takes Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,224 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Waters by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $475.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.35.

Waters Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $407.75 on Tuesday. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $420.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $378.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $346.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 101.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.