Waters Corporation $WAT Stake Boosted by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,777 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,994 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth $287,000. Natural Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waters by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Waters by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,785 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its stake in Waters by 51.3% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 351 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $133,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WAT. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Waters from $370.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. HSBC started coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Sunday, February 22nd. Three research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $387.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $327.44 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $311.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $352.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $32.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) 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. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $928.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.10 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

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.