Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 64,978 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services trimmed its Waters stake by 2.4%, selling 64,978 shares and finishing the quarter with 2,624,715 shares (about 4.41%) valued at roughly $996.9 million.
• Other large institutions aggressively added positions—Mawer (+225.5%), AllianceBernstein (+31.0%), Invesco (+32.3%), Fundsmith (+9.6%)—leaving Waters with 94.01% institutional ownership.
• Waters beat quarterly EPS estimates and set FY2026 guidance of 14.30–14.50 EPS; analysts have a consensus "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $390.44, though individual ratings vary.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,624,715 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 64,978 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 4.41% of Waters worth $996,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 225.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $465,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $175,320,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 32.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fundsmith LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 9.6% in the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $1,185,898,000 after purchasing an additional 347,091 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WAT shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $460.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. William Blair assumed coverage on Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price target on Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $390.44.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $320.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.12. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $275.05 and a 1 year high of $414.15. The company has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.10 earnings per share. 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, analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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