London Co. of Virginia Has $166.65 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

London Co. of Virginia reduced its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 4.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 555,855 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 24,581 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Waters were worth $166,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Waters by 225.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $465,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth $175,320,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WAT. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC began coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective for the company. William Blair began coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $393.84.

Waters Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $290.01 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $28.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $350.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $351.53. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.