Waters Corporation $WAT Position Boosted by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 29.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,602 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 271.5% in the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 9,938 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,960,000 after buying an additional 7,263 shares in the last quarter. Leonteq Securities AG raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 144.3% during the first quarter. Leonteq Securities AG now owns 469 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $140,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lifted its position in shares of Waters by 138.4% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 34,880 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $10,387,000 after acquiring an additional 20,247 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $496,000. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Waters by 1,886.7% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 28,350 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,443,000 after purchasing an additional 26,923 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $400.37.

Waters Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $377.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $358.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.91. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The stock has a market cap of $37.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.95, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts predict 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.