Swiss National Bank Boosts Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Swiss National Bank raised its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 76.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 288,614 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 125,494 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Waters worth $85,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Waters by 509.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Waters by 1,611.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 2,281.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after purchasing an additional 516,094 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $357.29 on Tuesday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $362.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $346.08. The stock has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a PE ratio of 45.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $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. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS 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.