Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC

Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 46.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,793 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,471 shares during the quarter. Waters comprises about 2.1% of Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,336,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Waters by 65.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth $53,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $61,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Waters by 510.3% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its position in Waters by 533.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 190 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $390.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $440.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.00.

Waters Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of WAT opened at $387.07 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $389.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.54.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $799.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.05 million. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.050-13.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.