Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 40.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,570 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,793 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Waters were worth $7,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT increased its holdings in Waters by 121.2% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 73 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC acquired a new stake in Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Waters during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $401.60.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $370.93 on Thursday. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $363.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $345.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.13, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Waters had a net margin of 11.91% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Waters’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.25 earnings per share. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 14.51 earnings per share 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.