Cambiar Investors LLC Sells 4,954 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Cambiar Investors LLC cut its stake in Waters by 31.1%, selling 4,954 shares and leaving 10,951 shares valued at $4,160,000, while institutional investors now own about 94.01% of the company.
• Waters slightly beat Q4 expectations with $4.53 EPS vs $4.50 consensus and revenue of $932.36M (+6.9% YoY), and issued FY2026 guidance of $14.30–$14.50 EPS and Q1 guidance of $2.25–$2.35.
• Analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a mean target of $390.44; the stock trades around $320.59 with a market cap of $31.45B and a P/E of 29.77.

Cambiar Investors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,951 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 4,954 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $4,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,397,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 231,852 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $69,512,000 after buying an additional 25,182 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 543.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $14,146,000 after buying an additional 31,459 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,295,612,000 after buying an additional 246,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,677,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $320.59 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $317.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $351.47. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $928.17 million. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.10 EPS. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, HSBC began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $460.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $390.44.

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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