Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,283 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 69.5% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,242 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Waters by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,400 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,811,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S grew its stake in Waters by 256.7% in the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 76,639 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,110,000 after acquiring an additional 55,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WAT shares. HSBC started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $355.12 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $310.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $352.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 1.27.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.49 earnings per share 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.