Waters (NYSE:WAT) Director Wei Jiang Acquires 500 Shares

Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $289.46 per share, with a total value of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Waters Stock Up 1.1%

Waters stock traded up $3.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $298.28. The stock had a trading volume of 76,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,085,462. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $346.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $351.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.73. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The firm had revenue of $932.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $928.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.10 EPS. The business’s 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. As a group, analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price objective for the company. William Blair began coverage on Waters in a research report on Monday, January 5th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Barclays began coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $425.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.84.

Institutional Trading of Waters

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Waters by 225.5% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,551,010 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $465,008,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,449 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Waters by 31.0% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Waters by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $266,384,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its position in Waters by 112.3% in the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Waters this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Director Wei Jiang purchased 500 shares at $289.46, increasing his stake by 17%—a classic insider-buy signal that can be interpreted as confidence in the company’s outlook. Director Wei Jiang Form 4
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage note: Barchart highlights that WAT has underperformed the Dow over the past year but says analysts remain moderately bullish — indicating mixed sentiment: longer-term concerns about relative performance but continued analyst confidence. Is Waters Corporation Stock Underperforming the Dow?
• Negative Sentiment: Waters priced a substantial $3.5 billion offering of senior notes across 2027–2036 maturities via subsidiary Augusta SpinCo — a large debt raise that may raise investor concerns about leverage, interest expense and capital allocation (use of proceeds not detailed). Size and additional interest-bearing debt likely weigh on near-term sentiment. Waters Prices Offering of Senior Notes

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.