GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 2,197 Shares of Waters Corporation $WAT

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,621 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 2,197 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $6,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Waters by 65.4% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 134 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC purchased a new stake in Waters during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC bought a new position in Waters in the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waters from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waters in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waters in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Partners set a $390.00 price objective on Waters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waters has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.00.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of Waters stock opened at $392.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.06, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $390.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.93. Waters Corporation has a 52 week low of $275.05 and a 52 week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.21 by $0.19. Waters had a return on equity of 36.59% and a net margin of 20.89%.The company had revenue of $799.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $780.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. The firm’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. As a group, analysts expect that Waters Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.