Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 294.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,766 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 19,232 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,673,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its position in Waters by 112.3% in 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 grew its position in Waters by 509.8% in 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 increased its stake in Waters by 1,611.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after acquiring an additional 547,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $400.37.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $377.35 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $358.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.64. The stock has a market cap of $37.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15.

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