Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 47.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,778 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Waters by 225.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Waters by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $175,320,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Waters by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith LLP increased its holdings in Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after purchasing an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $307.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $309.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $351.85. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $387.53.

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.