The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 315,706 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 60.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 209,540 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 315,706 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Waters were worth $78,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth about $14,274,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 7.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 464,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $174,206,000 after purchasing an additional 32,355 shares in the last quarter. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 53.3% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 47,551 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $17,847,000 after purchasing an additional 16,542 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 35,116.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,254,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $20,347,434,000 after purchasing an additional 54,099,977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth about $300,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WAT shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $430.10.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $408.02 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $426.22. 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 cap of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.75, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $394.88 and a 200-day moving average of $354.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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 research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company’s portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.