SG Americas Securities LLC Acquires 31,459 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 543.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,244 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC owned about 0.06% of Waters worth $14,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Diversified Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Waters by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 2,797 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 4th quarter valued at about $846,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waters by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,367 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,364,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Waters by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 13,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after acquiring an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. bought a new position in Waters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $363.00 price target on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Waters in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore assumed coverage on shares of Waters in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. They set a “hold” rating and a $360.00 price target for the company. Finally, HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waters in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $460.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $394.63.

Waters Trading Down 3.7%

NYSE WAT opened at $289.38 on Friday. Waters Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $275.05 and a fifty-two week high of $414.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $351.05. The stock has a market cap of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.