Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Invests $3.04 Million in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co opened a new position in Waters Corporation, buying 8,000 shares worth about $3.04 million in the fourth quarter.
• Waters continues to attract institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors holding 94.01% of the stock and several firms recently increasing their stakes.
• The company posted a strong quarter, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts now have a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a $396 average price target.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,000 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $3,039,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Waters by 112.9% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $73,733,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $396.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $384.12 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.72 billion, a PE ratio of 48.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.14. 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 business's 50-day moving average is $323.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.18.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. 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 business earned $2.25 EPS. The company's revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 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.

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