ASO GROUP Ltd Takes Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

ASO GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,649 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $1,386,000. Waters comprises about 0.5% of ASO GROUP Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. raised its position in Waters by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,890,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in shares of Waters by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $359.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $35.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.72, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.21. 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 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $336.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $350.23.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $394.56.

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.

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