Wei Jiang Purchases 500 Shares of Waters (NYSE:WAT) Stock

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $300.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $344.49 and its 200 day moving average is $350.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Waters’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Waters

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares (~$289.46 avg), increasing his stake ~17% — a direct insider purchase that investors often interpret as management confidence in the company’s near-term outlook. Insider Buying: Waters Director Acquires 500 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results and guidance remain supportive: Waters beat Q4 estimates and provided FY2026 EPS guidance in the $14.30–$14.50 range, which underpins analyst buy-side interest and helps explain upward price pressure. (Earnings/guidance were reported in February and remain the backdrop for today’s trade.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage note — WAT has underperformed the Dow over the past year, but analysts remain moderately bullish, producing mixed longer-term sentiment even as near-term indicators look constructive. Is Waters Corporation Stock Underperforming the Dow?
• Negative Sentiment: Waters priced a large $3.5 billion senior notes offering via its Augusta SpinCo subsidiary across 2027–2036 maturities — the size of the debt raise may raise short-term concerns about leverage, interest expense and capital allocation until use of proceeds is clearer. Waters Prices Offering of Senior Notes

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAT. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wolfe Research raised Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $393.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waters

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its stake in Waters by 121.2% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

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.