Bessemer Group Inc. Purchases 2,603 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 76.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,603 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 16.6% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at about $232,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WAT. Bank of America raised their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $370.93 on Thursday. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $363.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.93. The firm has a market cap of $36.42 billion, a PE ratio of 47.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS 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.