Assetmark Inc. lowered its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 56.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,196 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 5,449 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Waters were worth $1,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its position in shares of Waters by 121.2% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Waters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Waters during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $420.35.
Get Our Latest Report on WAT
Waters Stock Performance
Waters stock opened at $411.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $377.18 and a 200-day moving average of $346.31. The company has a market capitalization of $40.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $420.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 0.50.
Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.
About Waters
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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