Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $177.84 Million Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 155.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 468,221 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 284,699 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.79% of Waters worth $177,844,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 115.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore upgraded shares of 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. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.24.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $365.74 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $331.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $350.71. The company has a market capitalization of $35.91 billion, a PE ratio of 46.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results 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. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. Waters’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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current 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.