Parthenon LLC Sells 1,470 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Parthenon LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 4.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,261 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,470 shares during the quarter. Waters comprises approximately 1.0% of Parthenon LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Waters were worth $9,073,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waters during the third quarter valued at $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 65.4% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waters during the second quarter valued at about $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waters in the third quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WAT. Guggenheim started coverage on Waters in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $440.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Waters from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $480.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Rothschild Redb upgraded shares of Waters to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.00.

Waters Stock Performance

Waters stock opened at $392.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.16. Waters Corporation has a 1-year low of $275.05 and a 1-year high of $423.56. The company’s 50-day moving average is $390.32 and its 200 day moving average is $341.87.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.19. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The firm had revenue of $799.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $780.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Waters has set its FY 2025 guidance at 13.050-13.150 EPS and its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Waters Company 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.