Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Acquires Shares of 75 Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 75 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Waters by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 890 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waters by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 46,552 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock worth $17,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waters by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 120,167 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $44,580,000 after purchasing an additional 8,130 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Waters in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waters during the 4th quarter valued at $6,824,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.01% of the company’s stock.

Waters Stock Performance

WAT opened at $314.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $370.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $372.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04. Waters Co. has a 12-month low of $279.24 and a 12-month high of $423.56.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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, equities analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WAT. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waters from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $396.00 to $407.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. KeyCorp raised Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Waters from $430.00 to $410.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $397.25.

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.