Flputnam Investment Management Co. Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,628 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Waters by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,028,000 after buying an additional 348,379 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,019,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $303,556,000 after acquiring an additional 148,320 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $378.07 and a 200-day moving average of $346.12. 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 market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.68, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.Waters’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.35.

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.