Waters Corporation $WAT Holdings Increased by Willis Investment Counsel

Willis Investment Counsel grew its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 41,642 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Waters were worth $18,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Waters by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $41,222,000 after purchasing an additional 28,074 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 101.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 23,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,847,000 after purchasing an additional 11,870 shares during the last quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth $942,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter worth $1,490,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT traded up $10.94 on Tuesday, reaching $445.21. The company had a trading volume of 289,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 957,696. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $454.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.74 billion, a PE ratio of 110.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $421.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $377.73.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Waters from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waters from $475.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Waters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $443.79.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.