Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Buys New Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,162 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $942,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its stake in Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 2.5%

WAT stock opened at $377.42 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $37.06 billion, a PE ratio of 47.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $357.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $403.60.

About Waters

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.