Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by Kensington Investment Counsel LLC

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lessened its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 59.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,122 shares during the quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings in Waters by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Waters by 1,611.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after buying an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. 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 note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target on the stock. Three 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $379.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $367.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15.

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

About Waters

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.