Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Grows Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC lifted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 395,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 145,838 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for approximately 2.2% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Waters worth $118,433,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $53,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.84.

Waters Stock Up 1.1%

WAT opened at $286.42 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.Waters’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current 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.