Jacobs & Co. CA Raises Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Jacobs & Co. CA increased its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 22.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,518 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,864 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position 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 valued at $471,447,000 after buying an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after buying an additional 561,047 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after acquiring an additional 547,109 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 2,281.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,619,000 after acquiring an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were 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 $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waters reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.05 per share, exceeding the $3.01 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.65 billion versus expectations of $1.62 billion. Management issued third-quarter earnings guidance of $3.95–$4.05 per share and maintained full-year guidance of $14.45–$14.65 per share. Waters Corporation 2026 Q2 Results Earnings Call Presentation
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable following the results. Barclays raised its price target to $460 and kept an “overweight” rating, while Morgan Stanley set a $430 target. Waters has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $418.10. Waters analyst ratings and price targets
• Positive Sentiment: Recent institutional activity included new positions from several investment firms, and institutions collectively own approximately 94% of Waters’ outstanding shares, signaling substantial professional-investor support. Waters insider and institutional activity
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock is trading close to its 52-week high and well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Its price-to-earnings ratio of about 101 suggests investors are already pricing in significant future growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares for approximately $1.44 million, reducing his direct ownership by 16.92%. The transaction does not necessarily indicate a change in the company’s outlook, but it may create modest sentiment pressure. Waters director stock sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $418.10.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $406.94 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $373.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.56. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The stock has a market cap of $39.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.48, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. 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, equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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.