Perbak Capital Partners LLP Sells 2,971 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

Key Points

• Perbak Capital Partners LLP significantly reduced its holdings in Waters Corporation by 81.3%, now owning 683 shares valued at $252,000.
• Waters Corporation reported a quarterly revenue increase of 8.8% year-over-year, with earnings per share of $2.95, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• Waters stock has a current consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a target price averaging $378.73.

Perbak Capital Partners LLP decreased its stake in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 81.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 683 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 2,971 shares during the quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP's holdings in Waters were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WAT. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.0% during the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 3,155 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,163,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 5.1% during the first quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 658 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 744 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,381 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.8% during the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,498 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,026,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.01% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WAT. Wall Street Zen lowered Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $385.00 price target on Waters and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Waters from $370.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Waters from $374.00 to $352.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a "sector outperform" rating and issued a $465.00 price target on shares of Waters in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $378.73.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT traded up $6.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $306.28. The stock had a trading volume of 504,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,928. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $304.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.79. The firm has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.07. Waters Corporation has a one year low of $275.05 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $771.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $745.96 million. Waters had a return on equity of 38.60% and a net margin of 21.71%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. Waters has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.250 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 12.950-13.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

About Waters

Waters Corporation provides analytical workflow solutions in Asia, the Americas, and Europe. It operates through two segments: Waters and TA. The company designs, manufactures, sells, and services high and ultra-performance liquid chromatography, as well as mass spectrometry (MS) technology systems and support products, including chromatography columns, other consumable products, and post-warranty service plans.