Focus Partners Wealth Raises Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 3,158.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 271,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 263,421 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Waters were worth $103,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,397,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Waters by 543.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,146,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Waters by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,512,000 after buying an additional 25,182 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after buying an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,677,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $355.10 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The company 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. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $337.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.91.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price target 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. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC boosted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.56.

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.