Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 246,128 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Waters worth $2,295,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.9% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 13.1% during the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 327 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,264 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CW Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $737,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $328.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $375.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $348.35. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $397.68.

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.