Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 85,465 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 10,632 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Waters were worth $32,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Novem Group acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $1,027,000. Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $4,865,000. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at $237,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Waters by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 9,741 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Waters by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 61,588 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $23,393,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. William Blair started coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $387.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 6.9%

WAT opened at $311.17 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.61.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 EPS 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.