USS Investment Management Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

USS Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,237 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,292 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,150,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 12,669 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $4,812,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 3,158.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 271,761 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $103,223,000 after purchasing an additional 263,421 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 222,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $84,502,000 after purchasing an additional 2,356 shares during the period. Finally, Avidity Partners Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,077,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, HSBC increased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.56.

Waters Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $357.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $35.12 billion, a PE ratio of 45.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $338.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $349.53. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Waters’s revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $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, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current 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.