JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 117,098 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 54.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 332,447 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 117,098 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $99,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Waters by 44.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $175,320,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 target price on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $393.84.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $297.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $348.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm 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. Analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 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.