Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 140,166 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Nordea Investment Management AB lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 92.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,702 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 140,166 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Waters were worth $3,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $266,384,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in Waters by 307.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 287,316 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $100,285,000 after acquiring an additional 216,825 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Waters by 121.6% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 389,824 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $136,064,000 after acquiring an additional 213,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,410,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,586,653,000 after purchasing an additional 138,511 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $440.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waters from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.00.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $387.07 on Monday. Waters Corporation has a twelve month low of $275.05 and a twelve month high of $423.56. The company has a market cap of $23.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $389.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $340.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.19. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The business had revenue of $799.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $780.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.050-13.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

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.