4,917 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT Purchased by BDF Gestion

BDF Gestion bought a new position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,917 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Waters by 25.4% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,222,000 after buying an additional 28,074 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. grew its position in Waters by 101.3% during the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 23,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,847,000 after buying an additional 11,870 shares during the period. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter valued at $942,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the first quarter valued at $1,490,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in Waters by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after buying an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Waters from $440.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on Waters in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $443.79.

Waters Price Performance

WAT traded down $2.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $434.71. 178,589 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 959,684. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $420.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $376.76. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $282.77 and a 52-week high of $454.54. The company has a market capitalization of $42.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 108.40, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.15. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. Waters’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Profile

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) develops and manufactures analytical technologies used to measure, identify and characterize chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, industrial manufacturers, academic and government laboratories, and organizations involved in food, environmental and clinical testing.

The company’s product portfolio includes high-performance liquid chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography systems, mass spectrometers, chromatography columns and consumables, and laboratory software for data management and analysis.