Waters Corporation $WAT Holdings Lessened by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,781 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,410 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $12,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $476.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.86 billion, a PE ratio of 118.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $428.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $369.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $482.28.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $400.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waters from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.