Erste Asset Management GmbH Boosts Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 64.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,542 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 9,241 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 178.4% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 17,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $6,718,000 after buying an additional 11,333 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 126.5% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 700 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 433,906 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $164,811,000 after buying an additional 101,459 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 1,279 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter worth $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.6%

WAT opened at $363.27 on Tuesday. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $332.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.16, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Company 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.