2,645 Shares in Waters Corporation $WAT Bought by Virtu Financial LLC

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,645 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 543.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,146,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Waters by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,512,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Waters by 329.0% during the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,631,000 after purchasing an additional 3,293 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Waters by 204.3% in the 3rd quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 14,301 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,155,000 after buying an additional 9,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Waters by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 250,024 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $74,960,000 after buying an additional 27,990 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WAT shares. Evercore raised Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.56.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $356.26 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $342.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $348.22. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $34.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21.

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

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.