Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 185.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,286 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Waters by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.35.

Waters Stock Down 0.0%

WAT opened at $414.55 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $387.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $348.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $426.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.The business’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $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. 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.