Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 178.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,333 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WAT. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 115.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WAT. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays raised their price target on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.24.

Waters Stock Down 1.9%

Waters stock opened at $364.09 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $335.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $350.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15. The stock has a market cap of $35.75 billion, a PE ratio of 46.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.