Boston Trust Walden Corp Decreases Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its Q4 stake in Waters by 8.2% to 112,407 shares (about $42.7M); other institutions also moved positions (M&T Bank notably increased holdings by 1,662%), and institutional ownership is about 94.01%.
• Insider buying: Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares at $289.46 on March 16, boosting their stake 17% to 3,441 shares (≈$996k), while corporate insiders own roughly 0.63% of the stock.
• Analyst and financial snapshot: Waters has a consensus "Moderate Buy" target of $387.53, recently beat Q earnings ($4.53 vs. $4.50), set FY2026 guidance of $14.30–$14.50 EPS, and trades at a P/E of about 31.1.

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 112,407 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 9,977 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.19% of Waters worth $42,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. M&T Bank Corp increased its position 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. Novem Group acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,027,000. Jones Kertz & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,865,000. Finally, Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $237,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.53.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $334.61 on Thursday. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $312.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.90. The firm has a market cap of $32.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Waters's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Waters

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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