Long Road Investment Counsel LLC Purchases New Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Long Road Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,219 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in shares of Waters by 121.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $357.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $362.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.08. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60.

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.