Park National Corp OH Invests $949,000 in Waters Corporation $WAT

Park National Corp OH acquired a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,187 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 543.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,146,000 after acquiring an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Waters by 12.2% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,512,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in Waters by 329.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in Waters by 204.3% during the 3rd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,301 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,155,000 after buying an additional 9,601 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Waters by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 250,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,960,000 after buying an additional 27,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $356.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $342.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $348.22. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15. The company has a market cap of $34.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 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 given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.56.

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.