Royal Bank of Canada Buys 73,533 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 47.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,857 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,533 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.23% of Waters worth $68,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $232,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.

Waters Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $377.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.00, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $369.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $345.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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.