Commerce Bank Sells 2,135 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Commerce Bank decreased its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 14.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,321 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,135 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Waters were worth $4,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Waters during the 2nd quarter worth $2,010,000. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 2,133 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $800,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Callan Family Office LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Callan Family Office LLC now owns 2,151 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $807,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Waters by 96.3% during the 2nd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 24,463 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $9,175,000 after buying an additional 12,002 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth $253,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waters currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the transaction, the director owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. The trade was a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $412.37 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 102.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $282.77 and a 1-year high of $421.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $381.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $347.02.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm 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. Equities research analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS 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.