Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $3,039,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,397,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 543.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,146,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $69,512,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,677,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $384.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.18. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.81, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore upgraded shares of 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, Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.00.

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.