Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $6.82 Million in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Waters Co. (NYSE:WAT) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 18,369 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock, valued at approximately $6,824,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Waters by 1.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 81,653 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $29,386,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Waters by 4.4% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,747 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $989,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Waters during the 3rd quarter worth $256,000. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Waters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $104,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Waters by 3.3% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 22,695 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $8,168,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the period. 94.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WAT opened at $325.12 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $379.76 and its 200-day moving average is $373.64. Waters Co. has a twelve month low of $279.24 and a twelve month high of $423.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.36, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.04.

Waters (NYSE:WAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The medical instruments supplier reported $4.10 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waters Co. will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WAT. StockNews.com lowered Waters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Waters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Waters from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $430.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Waters from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $460.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waters has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $401.31.

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.