Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $148.92 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 397,310 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 67,690 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $148,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV bought a new position in Waters in the first quarter worth $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its stake in Waters by 121.2% during the fourth 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. Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC bought a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.35.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $414.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $421.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $383.92 and a 200-day moving average of $347.45.

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