Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 46,225 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 244,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,225 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $93,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $265,751,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after acquiring an additional 359,596 shares during the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after acquiring an additional 347,091 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $92,489,000. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 23,712.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 266,223 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $79,816,000 after acquiring an additional 265,105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. 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 note on Sunday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $395.71.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $371.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $325.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.93. 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 fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $36.52 billion, a PE ratio of 47.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.