Waters Corporation $WAT Shares Acquired by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 10.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,068 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $5,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pilgrim Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters during the 2nd quarter worth about $466,131,171,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,182,191,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $623,921,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Waters by 27.0% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,638,772 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $488,028,000 after buying an additional 348,379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Waters by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,593,388 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $602,921,000 after buying an additional 8,590 shares in the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Stock Down 1.6%

WAT opened at $414.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company has a market capitalization of $40.73 billion, a PE ratio of 103.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $387.53 and its 200-day moving average is $348.45. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $282.77 and a one year high of $426.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 113.3% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler raised Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $440.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $408.00 to $475.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $424.35.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.