SG Americas Securities LLC Grows Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 209.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,069 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,825 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.12% of Waters worth $34,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Waters by 509.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,906,000 after acquiring an additional 561,047 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after acquiring an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after purchasing an additional 516,094 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $356.82 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $344.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $347.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The company has a market cap of $35.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. 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 predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.56.

Waters Company 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.