Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,673 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,519 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.33% of Waters worth $59,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 115.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $393.84.

Waters Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $306.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Waters Corporation has a 52-week low of $275.05 and a 52-week high of $414.15. The stock has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.20. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $359.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $351.76.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 34.79%. The company had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Waters’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS 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.