Park National Corp OH Purchases New Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Park National Corp OH acquired a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 3,187 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,906,000 after acquiring an additional 561,047 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Waters by 1,611.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after acquiring an additional 547,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 2,281.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after acquiring an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $356.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $34.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.27, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $342.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.22. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.56.

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.