O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 178.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,333 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,295,612,000 after acquiring an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after acquiring an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. now owns 1,356,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $406,629,000 after acquiring an additional 135,504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of WAT opened at $364.09 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $335.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.47. 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 company has a market capitalization of $35.75 billion, a PE ratio of 46.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.Waters’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. 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, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC boosted their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.