Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Increases Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas raised its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,850 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings in Waters were worth $2,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,397,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 543.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $14,146,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Waters by 12.2% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $69,512,000 after purchasing an additional 25,182 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $4,677,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $394.56.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $360.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $35.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $339.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.20. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $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. Equities research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS 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.