Waters Corporation $WAT Stake Decreased by Fundsmith LLP

Fundsmith LLP cut its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,273,632 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 938,443 shares during the period. Waters makes up 6.2% of Fundsmith LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Fundsmith LLP’s holdings in Waters were worth $852,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitlin John LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 43.9% in the 2nd quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 82 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 7,608 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $2,890,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waters by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 616 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co raised its position in shares of Waters by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Avalon Trust Co now owns 1,330 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Waters by 2.9% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $386,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $414.55 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $387.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $348.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a PE ratio of 103.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $426.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.95 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WAT. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $435.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler raised shares of Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.