Distillate Capital Partners LLC Makes New $13.96 Million Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Distillate Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 46,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $13,962,000. Distillate Capital Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Waters as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waters by 3.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after acquiring an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP grew its holdings in Waters by 9.6% during 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Waters by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $934,100,000 after acquiring an additional 37,763 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WAT. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.84.

Waters Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $286.42 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $352.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $351.58. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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.