Grandfield & Dodd LLC Acquires New Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Grandfield & Dodd LLC acquired a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,839 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $690,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth about $3,182,191,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth $75,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $156,335,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth about $2,334,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $89,864,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, 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 on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.35.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $407.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 101.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $378.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.12. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $282.77 and a 52-week high of $420.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released 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 firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. On average, research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.