London Co. of Virginia lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT – Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 504,674 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 51,181 shares during the quarter. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Waters were worth $191,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Waters by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 16.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at about $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WAT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three equities 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.56.
Waters Trading Up 0.9%
Shares of WAT stock opened at $360.87 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $339.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $349.20. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.
Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) 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. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.
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