Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC Acquires Shares of 4,044 Waters Corporation $WAT

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,044 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fundsmith LLP boosted its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after purchasing an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $602,921,000 after purchasing an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Waters by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. raised its holdings in Waters by 11.1% in the third quarter. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. now owns 1,356,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $406,629,000 after buying an additional 135,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after buying an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.68.

Waters Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $369.65 on Tuesday. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $347.97 and its 200 day moving average is $347.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share 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.