Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Buys 1,514 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 71.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,514 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in Waters by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its position in Waters by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Four investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $400.37.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $377.35 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. 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 company has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $358.80 and a 200-day moving average of $346.91.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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.