Aviso Financial Inc. Raises Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Aviso Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 57.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,393 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,174 shares during the quarter. Aviso Financial Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Waters by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after acquiring an additional 825,723 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Waters by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $934,100,000 after acquiring an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waters by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,552,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $539,606,000 after acquiring an additional 42,202 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $393.84.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $318.99 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $368.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $350.64. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The company has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

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

About Waters

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.