Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 78,595 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its stake in Waters by 71.6% in Q4, selling 78,595 shares and leaving it with 31,175 shares worth about $11.84 million.
• Waters slightly beat Q4 estimates (EPS $4.53 vs. $4.50; revenue $932.36M vs. $928.17M) and set FY2026 guidance of $14.30–$14.50 EPS, while analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $387.53 target.
• Institutional investors own ~94% of the stock and insiders 0.31%; notable moves include an insider purchase of 500 shares by director Wei Jiang and Goldman Sachs increasing its stake to 200,051 shares.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 71.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,175 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 78,595 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Waters worth $11,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $73,733,000 after acquiring an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Waters by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waters Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE WAT opened at $307.22 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 company has a market capitalization of $30.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.14. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $309.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $351.85.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company 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, equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $425.00 price target for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, April 20th. HSBC assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $460.00 price target for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.53.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Waters 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.