Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 17,742 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 323,230 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 17,742 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Waters were worth $122,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Waters in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Waters by 115.4% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 112 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Waters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new stake in Waters in the second quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waters by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 163 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waters from $330.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waters from $345.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waters in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $387.00 target price on Waters in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on shares of Waters in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $394.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waters news, Director Wei Jiang bought 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $289.46 per share, for a total transaction of $144,730.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $996,031.86. This trade represents a 17.00% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waters Price Performance

WAT opened at $365.74 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.47, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.21. Waters Corporation has a 12-month low of $275.05 and a 12-month high of $414.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $331.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.39. Waters had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 11.91%.The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 91.4% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.950-3.050 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 14.400-14.600 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.