Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Waters Corporation by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 3,760 shares and leaving it with 24,208 shares valued at about $9.2 million.
• Waters reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.70 versus the $2.31 estimate and revenue of $1.27 billion versus $1.20 billion expected; it also issued Q2 2026 and FY 2026 guidance above current analyst expectations.
• Wall Street remains moderately bullish on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.24, while several firms recently raised or maintained positive ratings.

Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,208 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 3,760 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waters were worth $9,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 359 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $136,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $371.45 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $333.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $350.57. The stock has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.20, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.21. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WAT. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore upgraded Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $394.24.

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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