Freemont Management S.A. reduced its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT – Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. Waters makes up about 1.7% of Freemont Management S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Waters were worth $11,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waters by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $602,921,000 after buying an additional 8,590 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 32.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after buying an additional 359,596 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its stake 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,019,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $303,556,000 after acquiring an additional 148,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,751,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.
Waters Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $368.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $362.09 and its 200-day moving average is $346.54.
Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous 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. Equities research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.
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.
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