NS Partners Ltd Has $2.44 Million Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

NS Partners Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,511 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,347 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the second quarter valued at about $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,182,191,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $623,921,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth about $265,751,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Waters by 112.3% during the 4th quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 1,241,206 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $471,447,000 after acquiring an additional 656,436 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of WAT stock opened at $414.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 103.48, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $426.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $388.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $349.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $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 expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WAT shares. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $420.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.35.

About Waters

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.