Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Receives $418.10 Average PT from Brokerages

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $420.35.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 14th.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $3,182,191,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Waters by 27.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $488,028,000 after buying an additional 348,379 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 359,596 shares during the period. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $415.13 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a PE ratio of 103.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $375.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.69. Waters has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $416.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.