Van ECK Associates Corp Has $10.90 Million Stock Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 27.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,056 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,222 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $10,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan boosted its position in Waters by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 13,798 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $5,175,000 after acquiring an additional 821 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Waters by 69.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,373,150 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $514,986,000 after purchasing an additional 561,824 shares in the last quarter. Boussard & Gavaudan Gestion Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the second quarter worth approximately $655,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $199,000. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the second quarter worth approximately $211,000. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WAT has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 price target on shares of Waters in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waters from $435.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $424.35.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In other Waters news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,086,515.52. This represents a 16.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

NYSE WAT opened at $414.94 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a PE ratio of 103.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $388.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $349.22. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $282.77 and a 12-month high of $426.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.95 EPS. Waters’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waters Company 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.