Shell Asset Management Co. Increases Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 107.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,247 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,716 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,680,334,000 after buying an additional 173,584 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,070,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,131,757,000 after acquiring an additional 416,669 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Waters by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,066,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $761,643,000 after acquiring an additional 123,215 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,112,128 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $409,897,000 after acquiring an additional 136,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Waters by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 739,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $272,605,000 after acquiring an additional 15,563 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $327.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $423.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $298.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.73.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $771.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.96 million. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.950-13.050 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAT. Bank of America increased their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 target price on Waters and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $381.63.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.