Strs Ohio Acquires 26,923 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1,886.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 26,923 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the fourth 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 raised its stake 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 valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $73,733,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 16.6% during the 1st 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 purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $378.62 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $351.53 and its 200 day moving average is $346.75. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 48.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 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 business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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 year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Evercore raised Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four 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. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $396.68.

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.