Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Acquires New Shares in Waters Corporation $WAT

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,619 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $8,483,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other 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 transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Up 3.8%

WAT stock opened at $416.45 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $379.73 and its 200 day moving average is $346.54. The stock has a market cap of $40.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $420.26.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WAT. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.