Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 3,078 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 27.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,268 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,078 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Waters by 509.8% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after acquiring an additional 561,047 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1,611.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2,281.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 538,713 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $204,619,000 after purchasing an additional 516,094 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waters Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WAT opened at $414.90 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $376.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $345.85. The company has a market cap of $40.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.77 and a twelve month high of $420.26.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $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, analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.35.

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.