Quilter Plc Has $13.04 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Quilter Plc decreased its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,342 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 8,978 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc owned about 0.06% of Waters worth $13,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in Waters in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research raised Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $391.00.

Waters Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $304.28 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $324.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The business 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.