The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 315,706 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Posted by Francis Steltz on Sep 12th, 2026

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT – Free Report) by 60.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 209,540 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 315,706 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.21% of Waters worth $78,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Waters by 25.4% during the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 138,423 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $41,222,000 after purchasing an additional 28,074 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Waters by 329.0% in the fourth quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 4,294 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after buying an additional 3,293 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waters by 101.3% in the second quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. now owns 23,590 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,847,000 after buying an additional 11,870 shares during the period. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the first quarter valued at approximately $942,000. Finally, Hahn Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waters during the first quarter worth approximately $1,490,000. Institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Waters in a research note on Friday, June 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $435.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $400.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded Waters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $408.00 to $475.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $430.10.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on WAT

Waters Price Performance

Waters stock opened at $408.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.86. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $282.77 and a 52 week high of $426.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 101.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $394.88 and a 200-day moving average of $354.20.

Waters (NYSE:WAT – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.01 by $0.04. Waters had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 3.58%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.95 earnings per share. Waters’s 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 14.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waters

In other news, Director Christopher Kuebler sold 3,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.94, for a total value of $1,442,930.44. Following the sale, the director directly owned 17,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,086,515.52. This trade represents a 16.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Waters

(Free Report)

Waters Corporation (NYSE: WAT) develops and manufactures analytical workflow technologies used to measure, characterize and manage chemical and biological substances. Its customers include pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, industrial organizations, academic institutions and government laboratories.

The company’s portfolio includes liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis instruments, along with chromatography columns, consumables, laboratory software and services.