Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,869 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,297 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.20% of Waters worth $35,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 115.4% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Waters by 510.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.84.

Waters Stock Down 1.2%

WAT opened at $318.99 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $368.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $351.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $31.29 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 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.