Waters Corporation $WAT Holdings Increased by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 358,979 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,124 shares during the quarter. Waters accounts for 2.0% of Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in Waters were worth $134,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth about $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,182,191,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $623,921,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $265,751,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its stake in Waters by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $414.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $387.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $348.45. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $282.77 and a 52-week high of $426.22. The company has a market cap of $40.73 billion, a PE ratio of 103.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Piper Sandler raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $408.00 to $475.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $424.35.

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.