Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 60.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 209,540 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 315,706 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Waters were worth $78,585,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,182,191,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Waters by 27.0% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,028,000 after purchasing an additional 348,379 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waters by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $602,921,000 after purchasing an additional 8,590 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Waters by 32.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $414.41 on Wednesday. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $421.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $383.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $40.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of a number of research reports. HSBC lifted their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $420.35.

Waters Profile

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.