Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. Grows Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Fundsmith Investment Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,356,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 135,504 shares during the quarter. Waters comprises 6.3% of Fundsmith Investment Services LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Fundsmith Investment Services LTD.’s holdings in Waters were worth $406,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Waters by 225.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,449 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth $175,320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $286.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $352.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $350.81. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WAT. William Blair assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.84.

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.