Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 24.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new position in Waters during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director 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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $414.90 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $376.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $345.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.47, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $282.77 and a 52-week high of $420.26.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.95 EPS. 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, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.35.

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.