Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Holdings in Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Wellington Management increased its Waters stake by 69.2% in the second quarter, adding 561,824 shares to own 1.37 million shares valued at approximately $515 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 94.01% of Waters stock.
• Waters exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.05 EPS and $1.65 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 113.3% year over year. The company issued third-quarter EPS guidance of $3.95–$4.05 and full-year guidance of $14.45–$14.65.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $424.35, compared with shares opening at $414.55.

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,373,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 561,824 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 1.40% of Waters worth $514,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boussard & Gavaudan Gestion Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth about $655,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $199,000. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $302,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,068 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $5,927,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $414.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $426.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $387.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $348.45.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Friday, June 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $435.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waters from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $424.35.

Waters 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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