Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,033 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Waters were worth $14,066,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Waters during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Waters by 115.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $341.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $316.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $351.61. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore upgraded Waters from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $396.00.

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.