Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,898 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after buying an additional 46,225 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.41% of Waters worth $93,020,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $4,070,000. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its stake in Waters by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 2,840 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,079,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $221,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in Waters by 114.5% in the 4th quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 2,443 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waters in the 4th quarter worth $265,751,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $371.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $325.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 earnings per share. 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 research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities 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, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.71.

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.