Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Raises Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 395,026 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 145,838 shares during the period. Waters comprises about 2.2% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $118,433,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP grew its stake in Waters by 9.6% during the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after acquiring an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Waters by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $806,397,000 after acquiring an additional 825,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Waters by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $934,100,000 after acquiring an additional 37,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. William Blair started coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $393.84.

Waters Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $286.42 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters 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.