Winthrop Partners WNY LLC Takes Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Winthrop Partners WNY LLC purchased a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 2,077 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 543.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,146,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Waters by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,512,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth $4,677,000. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 329.0% in the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $356.26 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-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 market capitalization of $34.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $342.66 and a 200-day moving average of $348.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore upgraded Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.56.

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.