Shell Asset Management Co. Decreases Stake in Waters Corporation $WAT

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 43.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,993 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,254 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Waters were worth $897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waters by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,410,763 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,586,653,000 after purchasing an additional 138,511 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Waters by 31.0% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,021,358 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,403,615,000 after buying an additional 950,687 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Waters by 44.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,689,693 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $806,397,000 after buying an additional 825,723 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Waters by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,676,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $934,100,000 after buying an additional 37,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waters by 2.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,552,399 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $539,606,000 after buying an additional 42,202 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $460.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, December 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $423.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $397.68.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $323.91 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s fifty day moving average is $379.34 and its 200 day moving average is $348.42. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $414.15.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.50 by $0.03. Waters had a return on equity of 34.79% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $932.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $928.17 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.10 EPS. Waters’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its FY 2026 guidance at 14.300-14.500 EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.350 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current 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.