Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 3,249 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its Waters Corporation stake by 295.9% in the first quarter, buying 3,249 additional shares and bringing its total to 4,347 shares worth about $1.29 million.
• Waters reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.70 versus $2.31 expected and revenue of $1.27 billion versus $1.20 billion estimated. The company also raised guidance for Q2 2026 and FY 2026.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $401.60. Several firms recently lifted targets, though one downgraded the stock to hold.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 295.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,347 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 3,249 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $1,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter worth about $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Waters by 112.3% during the 4th 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 boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 509.8% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $204,619,000 after buying an additional 516,094 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $382.38 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $364.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $345.93. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $37.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.20. 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 (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $401.60.

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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