Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Takes $11.96 Million Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH bought a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 40,174 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $11,964,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Waters by 69.7% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 52,893 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $15,752,000 after buying an additional 21,718 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,503 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $291,000. Finally, Poehling Capital Management INC. bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $286,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $374.97 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.65, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $346.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $347.21. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WAT. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $396.68.

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.