Commerce Bank Decreases Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Commerce Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,321 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter worth about $3,182,191,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the fourth quarter valued at about $265,751,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP raised its position in shares of Waters by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Waters by 509.8% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 671,103 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $254,906,000 after purchasing an additional 561,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Waters by 1,611.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 581,063 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $220,705,000 after purchasing an additional 547,109 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waters Trading Up 0.4%

Waters stock opened at $412.37 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $381.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.02. The company has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $421.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Waters’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three research 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 data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $420.35.

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.