Waters Corporation $WAT Stock Position Lifted by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1,223.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,593 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,717 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of Waters by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WAT. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.35.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $412.37 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.84, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $421.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $381.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company 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, research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waters 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.