Leavell Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,001 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Leavell Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 17.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,377 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,001 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $2,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WAT. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in Waters by 25.8% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,526 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $14,145,000 after acquiring an additional 8,305 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Waters by 12.6% during the second quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,021 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its holdings in Waters by 7.0% in the second quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 22,933 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,005,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waters by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 126,070 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $44,004,000 after purchasing an additional 5,980 shares during the period. Finally, Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Waters during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,624,000. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waters from $345.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $440.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.00.

Waters Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $387.07 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $389.30 and a 200 day moving average of $340.42.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $799.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $780.05 million. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.