Rathbones Group PLC Acquires New Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Rathbones Group PLC bought a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $938,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in shares of Waters by 121.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

More Waters News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waters reported second-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.05, above the $3.01 consensus and up from $2.95 a year earlier. Revenue reached $1.645 billion, exceeding estimates of $1.62 billion and the company’s guidance range. Waters Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates, 2026 Revenue Growth View Raised
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook, including reported revenue guidance of approximately $6.415 billion to $6.476 billion and adjusted EPS guidance of $14.45 to $14.65. Management cited broad-based growth across its organic operations and recently acquired Biosciences and Diagnostic Solutions businesses. Waters Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Organic revenue rose 7% as reported, or 9% in constant currency. Analytical Sciences instrument growth reached 8%, while chemistry consumables posted double-digit growth, supported by improving pharmaceutical and industrial markets. The results suggest the end-market recovery is expanding beyond a limited set of customers.
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair maintained a Buy rating, citing broad-based end-market recovery and expected synergies from the acquired businesses. Recent institutional activity also showed substantial share additions by BlackRock, State Street and other large investors, although these holdings are not a direct near-term trading signal. Analyst Maintains Buy on Waters
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target from $370 to $400 but retained an Equal Weight rating, implying limited additional upside at recent trading levels. Wells Fargo Raises Waters Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: Third-quarter revenue guidance of $1.7 billion to $1.8 billion is slightly below the $1.8 billion consensus midpoint expectation, while Waters reported a GAAP loss tied largely to acquisition-related impacts. However, adjusted profitability remained above expectations.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WAT. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $420.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $418.10.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $398.14 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.29, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $372.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.52 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.