Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. has increased its holdings in Waters Corporation by 6.9%, acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total to 36,135 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million.
• Waters Corporation reported earnings of $2.95 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and showing an 8.8% revenue increase year-over-year, with Q3 2025 guidance set between $3.150-3.250 EPS.
• The stock of Waters Corporation, traded under the ticker WAT, has a current market capitalization of $17.63 billion and is currently trading at $296.22, down 1.8% as of the latest session.

Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,135 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 2,341 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Waters worth $13,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Waters by 2,368.1% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,087 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $10,352,000 after acquiring an additional 26,949 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Waters by 162.8% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Waters by 0.9% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 85,595 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $31,546,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC raised its position in Waters by 103.6% during the first quarter. Tema Etfs LLC now owns 2,816 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Waters by 21.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 132,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $48,876,000 after acquiring an additional 23,296 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank restated a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $378.73.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded up $1.47 during trading on Monday, reaching $307.79. The stock had a trading volume of 141,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 609,852. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.75. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $304.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.48. The stock has a market cap of $18.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 1.07. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $771.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $745.96 million. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The business's revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.950-13.050 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company Profile

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.