California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• CalPERS increased its stake in Waters Corporation by 25.4% in the first quarter, buying 28,074 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 138,423 shares worth about $41.2 million.
• Waters reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.70 and revenue of $1.27 billion, both beating analyst estimates. Revenue also jumped 91.4% from the same quarter a year earlier.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive but mixed, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.60. Several firms recently raised targets, while others maintained neutral or hold ratings.

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 25.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 28,074 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.14% of Waters worth $41,222,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 543.8% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $14,146,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its position in Waters by 329.0% during the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 3,293 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waters by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $5,177,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Waters by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Waters by 1,662.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $24,413,000 after acquiring an additional 60,626 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $357.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $362.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $346.08. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Waters's revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WAT. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC raised their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.

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