Jensen Investment Management Inc. Cuts Position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,952 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 1,390 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Waters worth $17,257,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Waters by 70.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $236,095,000 after buying an additional 271,804 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 34.4% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $141,757,000 after purchasing an additional 100,811 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Waters by 21.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 448,304 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $130,053,000 after purchasing an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waters by 3,627.0% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 68,987 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $24,828,000 after purchasing an additional 67,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Waters by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $189,417,000 after buying an additional 51,853 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT traded down $1.61 during trading on Friday, reaching $384.51. The stock had a trading volume of 361,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,998. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.02 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 36.69, a P/E/G ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $346.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $328.25. Waters Co. has a 52 week low of $246.35 and a 52 week high of $393.38.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The business’s revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 11.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra set a $389.00 price objective on shares of Waters in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $335.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $345.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Waters from $380.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $365.85.

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.