Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 615.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 525,246 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 451,871 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Waters were worth $156,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its holdings 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 worth $471,447,000 after buying an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Waters by 509.8% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $254,906,000 after buying an additional 561,047 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after acquiring an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $204,619,000 after acquiring an additional 516,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $384.67 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $367.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $345.48. The firm has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.88, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. HSBC lifted their price target on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60.

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.