Amundi Increases Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Amundi increased its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 464,501 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 32,355 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.47% of Waters worth $174,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in 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 valued at $20,347,434,000 after acquiring an additional 54,099,977 shares during the period. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,182,191,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $623,921,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $265,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:WAT opened at $403.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $39.62 billion, a PE ratio of 100.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50 day moving average is $393.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $426.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous 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. On average, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. HSBC lifted their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Waters from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $424.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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