Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Decreases Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its stake in Waters by 11.1%, selling 10,632 shares to end the quarter with 85,465 shares (about 0.14% of the company) worth $32.68 million.
• Several large institutions (Vanguard, Fundsmith, MFS, Mawer, Invesco) increased their holdings, and institutional investors now own about 94.01% of Waters stock, signaling broad professional ownership.
• Analysts give Waters a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $387.53; the company slightly beat Q4 EPS expectations ($4.53 vs. $4.50) and set FY2026 guidance of 14.30–14.50 EPS.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,465 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 10,632 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.14% of Waters worth $32,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 3.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,656,891 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,295,612,000 after purchasing an additional 246,128 shares during the last quarter. Fundsmith LLP lifted its stake in Waters by 9.6% during the third quarter. Fundsmith LLP now owns 3,955,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,185,898,000 after purchasing an additional 347,091 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Waters by 44.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $806,397,000 after purchasing an additional 825,723 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Waters by 225.5% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $465,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Waters by 32.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $441,446,000 after purchasing an additional 359,596 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WAT shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, February 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $387.53.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $311.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $414.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $312.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.61. The stock has a market cap of $30.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $928.17 million. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $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, research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.63% of the company's stock.

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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