Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 615.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 525,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 451,871 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.53% of Waters worth $156,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings 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 worth $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Waters by 1,611.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,619,000 after purchasing an additional 516,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WAT. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $384.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.77 billion, a PE ratio of 48.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $367.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.48. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Waters’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.