Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Makes New $1.58 Million Investment in Waters Corporation $WAT

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co bought a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,220 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,583,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in Waters during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its stake in Waters by 121.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Retirement LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.35.

Waters Stock Down 1.6%

Waters stock opened at $414.55 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.77 and a twelve month high of $426.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $387.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $348.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.38, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Company 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.