Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

Key Points

• UBS Asset Management reduced its Waters position by 2.5%, selling 19,634 shares and retaining 774,955 shares valued at approximately $290.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 94.01% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Waters carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $424.35; TD Cowen recently upgraded the stock to “buy” and raised its target to $475.
• Waters exceeded quarterly expectations with $3.05 in EPS versus $3.01 expected and $1.65 billion in revenue, up 113.3% year over year. Shares opened at $414.94, near the company’s 12-month high of $426.22.

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 774,955 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 19,634 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.79% of Waters worth $290,639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WAT. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,182,191,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $623,921,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Waters by 27.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $488,028,000 after buying an additional 348,379 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waters by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $408.00 to $475.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $424.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $414.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $388.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $349.22. The company has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a PE ratio of 103.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.77 and a twelve month high of $426.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue 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 research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share 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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