Waters (NYSE:WAT) Director Christopher Kuebler Sells 3,626 Shares of Stock

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Waters Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE WAT opened at $406.94 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $373.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $345.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.48, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 1.19.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.95 EPS. The business’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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WAT. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $475.00 in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $418.10.

Institutional Trading of Waters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,222,000 after buying an additional 28,074 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in Waters by 329.0% in the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 3,293 shares during the last quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $942,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Waters by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Waters by 1,662.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,273 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,413,000 after acquiring an additional 60,626 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.