Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Sold by Fundsmith LLP

Fundsmith LLP trimmed its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 29.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,273,632 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 938,443 shares during the quarter. Waters makes up about 6.2% of Fundsmith LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Fundsmith LLP owned 2.31% of Waters worth $852,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Waters by 112.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,269 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 200,051 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $73,733,000 after buying an additional 6,976 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Waters by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,126 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $415,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $400.00 to $480.00 in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.35.

Waters Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WAT stock opened at $414.55 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.38, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $387.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $348.60. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.77 and a twelve month high of $426.22.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.95 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Research 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 A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.