Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by Oak Thistle LLC

Oak Thistle LLC lowered its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 44.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,295 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,407 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Waters by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 411 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Waters by 5.9% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 630 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Waters by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,473 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $390.44.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $319.16 on Thursday. 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 $31.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $275.05 and a 12 month high of $414.15. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $351.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.10 earnings per share. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.63% 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.