eCIO Inc. Purchases New Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 227 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 85.7% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Waters by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,986 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,813 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,774,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. CX Institutional bought a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Waters by 169.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,283,000 after purchasing an additional 7,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector outperform” rating and issued a $465.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $378.73.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $302.95 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $300.75 and its 200 day moving average is $333.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.32, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.07. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $771.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $745.96 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 38.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.950-13.050 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.