Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New $623.92 Million Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,663,601 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $623,921,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Waters by 121.2% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC bought a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $414.41 on Wednesday. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $282.77 and a 12-month high of $421.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $383.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $347.45.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current 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.