Smith Group Asset Management LLC Acquires 4,964 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 77,612 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 4,964 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $23,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Guardian Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 789 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Waters by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 432,146 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $128,693,000 after buying an additional 72,300 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at about $161,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 112.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 779 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $232,000 after buying an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 68.1% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 154,059 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $45,879,000 after buying an additional 62,393 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of WAT opened at $384.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $367.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.48.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.60.

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.