Focus Partners Wealth Increases Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 3,158.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 271,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 263,421 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth owned about 0.46% of Waters worth $103,223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $2,295,612,000 after buying an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP increased its holdings in Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,185,898,000 after buying an additional 347,091 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 8,590 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Waters by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after buying an additional 359,596 shares during the period. Finally, Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. increased its holdings in Waters by 11.1% in 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 buying an additional 135,504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WAT. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Evercore upgraded shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.56.

Waters Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE WAT opened at $355.10 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $337.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $349.91. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share 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.