Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management increased its stake in Waters Corporation by 58.4% in the first quarter, buying 7,538 additional shares and bringing its total to 20,445 shares worth about $6.09 million.
• Other institutional investors also made modest additions to WAT, and hedge funds/institutions now own 94.01% of the company’s stock, underscoring strong institutional interest.
• 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 expected; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $401.60.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 58.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after buying an additional 7,538 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $6,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $400.00 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT stock opened at $374.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $365.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $346.13. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.59, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.25 EPS. Waters'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. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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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