California State Teachers Retirement System Boosts Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 68.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,059 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 62,393 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Waters were worth $45,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Waters by 121.2% in the 4th 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 last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $27,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WAT shares. 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $401.60.

Waters Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $381.12 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $37.42 billion, a PE ratio of 48.43, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50 day moving average of $368.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $345.25. 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 (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $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. As a group, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current 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.