Janus Henderson Group PLC Boosts Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 348,379 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $488,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its holdings in Waters by 121.2% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Piper Sandler began coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $379.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.20, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $367.80 and a 200 day moving average of $345.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal 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.