Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases New Position in Waters Corporation $WAT

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 239,613 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $89,864,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,222,000 after buying an additional 28,074 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its holdings in shares of Waters by 329.0% in the 4th quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293 shares during the last quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 1st quarter valued at about $942,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Waters by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,751 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. increased its stake in Waters by 101.3% during the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 23,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $8,847,000 after acquiring an additional 11,870 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waters

In related news, Director Christopher A. Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total transaction of $1,442,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WAT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waters from $425.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $430.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $408.00 to $475.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $420.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $420.35.

Waters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $401.78 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 100.19, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.19. Waters Corporation has a 12 month low of $282.77 and a 12 month high of $420.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $378.68 and its 200 day moving average is $346.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.95 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 113.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Waters has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.950-4.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.450-14.650 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.57 EPS 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.