Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by London Co. of Virginia

Key Points

• London Co. of Virginia cut its stake in Waters Corporation by 29.6% in the first quarter, selling 149,364 shares and leaving it with 355,310 shares valued at about $105.8 million.
• Despite that sale, Waters still has strong institutional backing, with 94.01% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Waters reported better-than-expected Q1 results, including EPS of $2.70 versus $2.31 expected and revenue of $1.27 billion versus $1.20 billion expected; analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $401.60.

London Co. of Virginia lowered its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 29.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 355,310 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 149,364 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia owned about 0.36% of Waters worth $105,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waters by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its position in Waters by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co lifted its stake in Waters by 2.3% in the first quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% in the first 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. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $401.60.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $374.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.79. The company's fifty day moving average is $365.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $346.13. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.59, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.25 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 91.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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