Waters Corporation $WAT Stock Position Increased by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC increased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 58.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 7,538 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Waters by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 29,424 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,762,000 after acquiring an additional 11,499 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at about $394,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Waters by 201.1% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 148,660 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $44,271,000 after purchasing an additional 99,285 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Waters by 38.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 13,658 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $4,067,000 after purchasing an additional 3,809 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 162.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 197,565 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $58,836,000 after purchasing an additional 122,356 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waters from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $374.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $365.23 and its 200-day moving average is $346.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. Equities research 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.