Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Invests $896,000 in Waters Corporation $WAT

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $896,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,182,191,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Waters by 27.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,028,000 after acquiring an additional 348,379 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waters by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Waters by 32.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $416.45 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $40.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $379.73 and a 200-day moving average of $346.54. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $420.26.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAT. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Waters in a research note 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.35.

Waters Company 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.