Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Buys 2,356 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 222,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,356 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.37% of Waters worth $84,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in shares of Waters by 121.2% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 39.6% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 155 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Evercore upgraded Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.56.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $355.10 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $337.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a PE ratio of 45.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. 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, research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current 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.