Newport Trust Company LLC Has $55.29 Million Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Newport Trust Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 184,414 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,125 shares during the quarter. Newport Trust Company LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $55,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. PFG Investments LLC raised its position in Waters by 10.5% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 1,584 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth approximately $1,316,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 37.0% during the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 9,592 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waters by 82.5% during the third quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,823 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,834,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $392.35 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53. The firm has a market cap of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $390.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.93.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%.Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $385.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 price objective on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Waters in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $440.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.00.

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.