Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Vanguard Group reduced its stake in Waters by 2.4% in Q4, selling 186,955 shares and now holds 7,469,936 shares—about 12.54% of the company valued at roughly $2.84 billion.
• Waters beat Q4 estimates with EPS of $4.53 (vs. $4.50) and revenue of $932.36M (up 6.9% YoY), issued FY2026 guidance of 14.30–14.50 EPS, and carries a consensus target of ~$387.53 with an average rating of Moderate Buy.
• Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares at about $289.46 in mid‑March, while corporate insiders own 0.31% and institutional investors hold roughly 94.01% of the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,469,936 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 186,955 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.54% of Waters worth $2,837,306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 510.3% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Waters Stock Performance

NYSE:WAT opened at $301.07 on Wednesday. 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 fifty day moving average of $310.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $352.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.20. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $460.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore raised shares of Waters from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $387.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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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