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

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,412 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,540 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waters were worth $16,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Waters by 235.7% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Waters by 129.3% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 94 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waters by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 125 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Waters during the 4th quarter worth $63,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WAT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waters from $380.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays raised shares of Waters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $415.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $391.07.

Waters Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE WAT opened at $378.18 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $391.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $370.48.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.02 by $0.08. Waters had a return on equity of 46.31% and a net margin of 21.56%. Equities research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Waters Profile

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.