Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 373,708 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,809 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Waters were worth $141,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 3.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP lifted its stake in Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after buying an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $602,921,000 after buying an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Waters by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after buying an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. lifted its stake in Waters by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. now owns 1,356,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $406,629,000 after buying an additional 135,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.9%

WAT stock opened at $360.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.85, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $339.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.56.

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.