Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 19.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 375,512 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 62,428 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.63% of Waters worth $112,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Waters by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, 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. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $393.84.

Waters Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $302.44 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $29.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $361.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $351.65.

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 net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The company had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.10 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.