Newport Trust Company LLC decreased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT – Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 175,530 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,884 shares during the period. Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $66,672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 225.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after buying an additional 1,074,449 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $175,320,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 32.3% during the 3rd 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 period. Fundsmith LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after buying an additional 347,091 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $92,489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.00.
Waters Stock Down 0.1%
Waters stock opened at $341.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $316.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.61.
Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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. As a group, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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