Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 9.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,562 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth $3,182,191,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,382,008 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,643,428,000 after purchasing an additional 19,998 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at $623,921,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Waters by 69.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,373,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $514,986,000 after purchasing an additional 561,824 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $454.19 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $482.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $433.96 and its 200 day moving average is $371.87. The firm has a market cap of $44.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 194.93, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.16.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.00 by $0.10. Waters had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 120.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.65 EPS for the current year.

More Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waters’ third-quarter performance and forward guidance reinforced RBC’s positive investment thesis. The company also reported adjusted EPS and revenue above consensus estimates. Waters’ Strong Q3 Performance, Forward Guidance Support Rating Thesis
• Positive Sentiment: Management outlined a 2027 framework targeting a 29.2% adjusted operating margin and a path to high-single-digit growth, signaling confidence in continued expansion. Waters outlines 2027 framework
• Positive Sentiment: Several firms raised their price targets after the results: Citi to $536, TD Cowen and Barclays to $530, RBC to $525, KeyCorp to $500, and JPMorgan to $470. Ratings ranged from buy/outperform to neutral, reflecting broadly improved—but not uniformly bullish—expectations. Citigroup recommendations
• Negative Sentiment: A separate valuation-focused report questioned whether Waters is fully priced following mixed earnings, suggesting expectations may already be high and limiting further upside. Is Waters fully priced?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. HSBC raised their target price on Waters from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Waters from $450.00 to $455.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore increased their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $440.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $475.48.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.