Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has increased its stake in Waters Corporation by 25.8%, acquiring an additional 8,305 shares, bringing its total holdings to 40,526 shares valued at approximately $14.15 million.
• Waters Corporation reported $2.95 earnings per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with revenues increasing by 8.8% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors hold 94.01% of Waters Corporation's stock, indicating a strong interest from the financial sector.

Swedbank AB raised its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 25.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,526 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after acquiring an additional 8,305 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.07% of Waters worth $14,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,272,252 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,680,334,000 after acquiring an additional 173,584 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 15.7% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,070,671 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,131,757,000 after acquiring an additional 416,669 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 6.3% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,066,482 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $761,643,000 after acquiring an additional 123,215 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waters by 14.0% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,112,128 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $409,897,000 after purchasing an additional 136,396 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Waters by 2.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 739,630 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $272,605,000 after purchasing an additional 15,563 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $315.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 price objective on Waters and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $378.73.

Waters Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of WAT traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $302.34. 746,508 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 624,949. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $330.17. The company has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.07. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $771.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $745.96 million. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.950-13.050 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.