Groupe la Francaise Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Groupe la Francaise purchased a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 31,009 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $9,206,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co increased its position in shares of Waters by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $381.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.42 billion, a PE ratio of 48.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $368.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $345.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. On average, equities analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.60.

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.