Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 870,969 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $330,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the third quarter worth $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Waters by 115.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in Waters during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Waters by 510.3% during the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. The trade was a 17.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Waters from $423.00 to $350.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Sunday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $387.53.

Waters Price Performance

WAT stock opened at $342.57 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.63 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $309.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $352.05. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.25 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.38 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Waters

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat consensus — Reported adjusted EPS of $2.70 vs. $2.31 expected and revenue of $1.267B, driven by both organic strength and the recently acquired biosciences assets. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY 2026 profit guidance — Management lifted full‑year adjusted EPS to $14.40–$14.60 and raised revenue guidance, signalling stronger-than-expected underlying performance. Reuters: Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition is contributing early revenue and apparent synergies — ~$520M of revenue from the acquired Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions businesses helped drive the beat and investor optimism about integration upside. Quiver Quant
• Neutral Sentiment: Strong organic growth by division — Analytical Sciences showed instrument and chemistry strength (high‑single‑digit instrument growth, mid‑teens chemistry growth), supporting durable end‑market demand. PR Newswire: Q1 Highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 EPS range modestly overlaps but slightly below some street estimates — Q2 guide of $2.95–$3.05 sits around consensus (reported ~3.03), which tempers the near‑term outlook despite the full‑year raise. Zacks: Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — At least one firm reiterated a Buy rating, highlighting pharma demand and BD synergies as upside drivers. TipRanks: Analyst Note

About Waters

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.