Fenimore Asset Management Inc Grows Stock Holdings in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Fenimore Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 234,488 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Waters makes up approximately 1.8% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Fenimore Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.39% of Waters worth $86,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waters by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,098,668 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $2,633,464,000 after acquiring an additional 19,456 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 106,144.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,087,461 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $1,145,386,000 after acquiring an additional 3,084,555 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Waters by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,654,002 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $984,582,000 after acquiring an additional 212,364 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waters by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,451,445 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $537,053,000 after acquiring an additional 34,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Waters by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 889,306 shares of the medical instruments supplier's stock worth $329,911,000 after acquiring an additional 3,713 shares during the last quarter. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waters Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Waters stock opened at $351.25 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.11. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $341.26 and a 200 day moving average of $368.99. Waters Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.24 and a fifty-two week high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The medical instruments supplier reported $2.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.22 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $661.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $655.50 million. Waters had a net margin of 21.56% and a return on equity of 46.31%. Waters's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WAT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Waters from $415.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Waters from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Waters from $355.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Waters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $400.00 target price on shares of Waters and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $390.19.

Waters Company 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.

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