Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,073 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $617,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 position 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 worth $415,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WAT. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waters from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60.

Waters Stock Down 3.2%

WAT opened at $357.29 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $362.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $346.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Profile

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.