Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates acquired 9,163 Waters shares during the third quarter, valued at approximately $4.03 million. Institutional investors collectively own 94.01% of Waters stock.
• Waters exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.05 in EPS versus the $3.01 consensus and $1.65 billion in revenue, up 113.3% year over year. The company guided for fiscal 2026 EPS of $14.45–$14.65.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $443.79 price target, although director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares at an average price of $397.94.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,163 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock, valued at approximately $4,026,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Resources Management Corp CT ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Vision Retirement LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Bollard Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of WAT opened at $455.89 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $423.54 and its 200-day moving average is $380.89. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $465.36. The firm has a market cap of $44.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 113.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. Waters's revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on WAT shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Waters from $465.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $443.79.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation NYSE: WAT develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company's product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.

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