Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd Sells 30,757 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd cut its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,778 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 30,757 shares during the period. Osmosis Investment Management UK Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,182,191,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Waters by 27.0% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,028,000 after purchasing an additional 348,379 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waters by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $602,921,000 after acquiring an additional 8,590 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 32.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,472,419 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $441,446,000 after buying an additional 359,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP boosted its position in Waters by 112.3% during the fourth quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after purchasing an additional 656,436 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings cut Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Waters in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $420.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waters Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE WAT opened at $412.37 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $40.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $282.77 and a fifty-two week high of $421.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $347.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. Waters’s 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. On average, analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 earnings per share for the current year.

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.