Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) Shares Sold by Jensen Investment Management Inc.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,412 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock after selling 3,540 shares during the period. Jensen Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Waters worth $16,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WAT. Advisory Alpha LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 966 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $3,565,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 851 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $378.18 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $391.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $370.48. Waters Co. has a one year low of $279.24 and a one year high of $423.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.00.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last posted 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 net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. On average, analysts predict that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on WAT shares. Scotiabank raised shares of Waters from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $430.00 to $450.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upgraded 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 note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waters from $405.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $391.07.

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.