Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 87,057 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 63.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 223,324 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 87,057 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Waters worth $66,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Waters by 509.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Waters by 1,611.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 2,281.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,619,000 after purchasing an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group raised their price target on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waters from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $400.37.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $377.35. The stock had a trading volume of 502,288 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,968. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $358.80 and its 200 day moving average is $346.91. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share 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.