Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 8,590 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $602,921,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased 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 period. Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $175,320,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Waters by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares during the period. Fundsmith LLP increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $92,489,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $384.12 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $323.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $351.18. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market cap of $37.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.14.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Barclays lifted their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore raised Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on Waters 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 eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.00.

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.