Waters Corporation $WAT Stock Sold by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP lessened its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 82.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,335 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 173,401 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Waters were worth $15,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 25.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 28,074 shares during the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. raised its stake in Waters by 101.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 23,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,847,000 after purchasing an additional 11,870 shares during the last quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. acquired a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $942,000. Hahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at $1,490,000. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Waters by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waters news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $458.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $422.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a PE ratio of 114.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.15. Waters Corporation has a 1 year low of $282.77 and a 1 year high of $459.63.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The business’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WAT shares. Piper Sandler raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Waters from $440.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $375.00 to $490.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $443.79.

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.