3,833 Shares in Waters Corporation $WAT Bought by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,833 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $1,149,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WAT. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waters by 115.4% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC bought a new position in Waters in the 2nd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Waters by 510.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 177 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WAT shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Waters from $395.00 to $370.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $440.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Monday, January 5th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Bank of America reduced their price target on Waters from $410.00 to $350.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Two equities 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 MarketBeat, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $393.84.

Insider Transactions at Waters

In related news, Director Wei Jiang acquired 500 shares of Waters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This represents a 17.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waters Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $299.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The business has a 50 day moving average of $342.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $350.73. The company has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.20.

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