HighTower Advisors LLC Has $3.79 Million Stock Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors reduced its Waters position by 24.3% in the second quarter, selling 3,248 shares and retaining 10,108 shares valued at approximately $3.79 million.
• Waters reported quarterly earnings of $3.05 per share, exceeding estimates of $3.01, while revenue reached $1.65 billion and increased 113.3% year over year. The company issued full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $14.45–$14.65.
• Analysts remain generally bullish, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $430.10, compared with a recent share price of $408.02.

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,108 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,248 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $3,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Waters by 35,116.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,254,036 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $20,347,434,000 after purchasing an additional 54,099,977 shares during the period. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at about $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at about $3,182,191,000. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Waters during the second quarter worth about $623,921,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 27.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $488,028,000 after buying an additional 348,379 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $408.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 101.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50-day moving average price is $394.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $354.20. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $426.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Waters's revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $430.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Waters

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company's portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.

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