BNP Paribas Financial Markets Decreases Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,303 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 6,715 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Waters were worth $40,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Waters by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $415,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Waters

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waters Corporation with an outperform/strong-buy view and a $425 price target, implying meaningful upside and helping support the stock. Waters was upgraded by Wolfe Research to “strong-buy”.
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Waters to $400 from $370, signaling continued confidence in the company’s outlook even while keeping a neutral rating. Waters had its price target raised by Bank of America Corporation.
• Positive Sentiment: Waters announced FDA 510(k) clearance for the BD BACTEC FXI Culture System, which expands access to bloodstream infection diagnostics and delivers a faster time to detection, a potentially meaningful commercial win for its clinical diagnostics portfolio. Waters Announces FDA 510(k) Clearance of BD BACTEC FXI Culture System.
• Neutral Sentiment: Waters presented at the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference 2026, but no new financial guidance or material business update was highlighted in the transcript headline alone. Waters Corporation (WAT) Presents at Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference 2026 Transcript.

Waters Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $379.76 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $328.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $350.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $414.15. The company has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.25, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.21.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.25 EPS. The business’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 anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WAT. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.24.

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.