Waters Corporation $WAT Stock Position Raised by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 63.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,943 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 1,914 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waters by 0.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Waters by 32.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew 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 worth $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waters by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,019,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $303,556,000 after purchasing an additional 148,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth $265,751,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WAT. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $375.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.85 billion, a PE ratio of 47.68, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $361.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $346.44.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 EPS. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current year.

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.