Waters Corporation $WAT Holdings Lifted by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 67.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,883 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,581 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its position in Waters by 121.2% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Louisbourg Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 10,200.0% during the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.68.

Waters Stock Down 0.2%

WAT opened at $378.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 48.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $351.53 and its 200-day moving average is $347.02. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’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. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS 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.