Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New $3.71 Million Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Heartland Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,711,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Waters by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its stake in Waters by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 17.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,019,289 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $303,556,000 after purchasing an additional 148,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $265,751,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WAT. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $368.82 on Monday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $362.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.27. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a PE ratio of 46.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. Research analysts expect 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.