Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Reduces Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lowered its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,135 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,220 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Waters were worth $12,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its stake in shares of Waters by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 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 last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 411 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HSBC initiated coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $396.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $333.43 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $352.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.37, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.79.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. Waters’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. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.49 earnings per share for the current 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.