Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,090 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Waters worth $12,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its position in Waters by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waters by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $394.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $371.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 47.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $333.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $350.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. 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 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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.