Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 0.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 690,148 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 5,335 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Waters were worth $258,833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Waters by 22.9% in the second quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 290,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $108,930,000 after buying an additional 54,144 shares during the last quarter. Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $22,767,000. Vega Investment Solutions grew its position in shares of Waters by 26.7% during the second quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 3,749 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 73.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,085 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574 shares during the period. Finally, Castlefield Investment Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 107.6% in the 2nd quarter. Castlefield Investment Partners LLP now owns 1,553 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 0.2%

Waters stock opened at $415.07 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $385.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.72. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $421.74. The company has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a PE ratio of 103.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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, sell-side analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $420.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average 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.