South Dakota Investment Council raised its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT – Free Report) by 849.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,334 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 5,667 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,590 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 359,596 shares during the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in Waters by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 148,320 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Waters by 60.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 814,716 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $242,599,000 after buying an additional 307,941 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.
Waters Price Performance
Shares of Waters stock opened at $377.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.09 billion, a PE ratio of 48.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $369.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.48.
Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share 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.
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