Jensen Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,390 Shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,952 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after selling 1,390 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Waters worth $17,257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WAT. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waters by 70.7% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 656,019 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $236,095,000 after purchasing an additional 271,804 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Waters by 34.4% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 393,890 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock valued at $141,757,000 after acquiring an additional 100,811 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 acquiring an additional 77,951 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waters by 3,627.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 67,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Waters by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 652,892 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $189,417,000 after acquiring an additional 51,853 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:WAT traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $384.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 361,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 502,998. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $346.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $328.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 2.02. Waters Co. has a 1 year low of $246.35 and a 1 year high of $393.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.69, a PEG ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.97.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Waters had a return on equity of 49.93% and a net margin of 21.43%. The firm had revenue of $740.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $712.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waters Co. will post 11.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on WAT shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Waters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $355.00 to $415.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Waters from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waters from $340.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Cfra set a $389.00 price target on Waters in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Waters from $330.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $365.85.

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.