Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 17.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 465,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 69,648 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $138,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Waters by 112.3% in the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Waters by 509.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after purchasing an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $368.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $362.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $346.54. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The company’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current 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.