Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $265,751,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Waters by 1,611.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after acquiring an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Waters by 32.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP raised its holdings in Waters by 9.6% in the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after acquiring an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $92,489,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.6%

WAT stock opened at $357.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The company’s 50 day moving average is $338.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $349.53. The stock has a market cap of $35.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.45, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21.

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. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently 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 report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore raised shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.