Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 18.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,686 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 4,908 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $8,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,890,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waters by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waters by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avalon Trust Co lifted its holdings in Waters by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $411.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $377.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.31. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.77 and a twelve month high of $420.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a PE ratio of 102.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.19.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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, equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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 initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.