Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) was in 16 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. WAT has seen an increase in hedge fund interest of late. There were 14 hedge funds in our database with WAT holdings at the end of the previous quarter.
If you’d ask most investors, hedge funds are viewed as slow, old financial vehicles of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds with their doors open at present, we hone in on the top tier of this club, close to 450 funds. Most estimates calculate that this group controls the majority of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by tracking their top stock picks, we have found a few investment strategies that have historically outpaced the broader indices. Our small-cap hedge fund strategy outstripped the S&P 500 index by 18 percentage points annually for a decade in our back tests, and since we’ve started sharing our picks with our subscribers at the end of August 2012, we have topped the S&P 500 index by 23.3 percentage points in 8 months (explore the details and some picks here).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the world of equities. As the old adage goes: there are lots of stimuli for a bullish insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Plenty of academic studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if shareholders know where to look (learn more here).
With all of this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the recent action regarding Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT).
Hedge fund activity in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)
At Q1’s end, a total of 16 of the hedge funds we track were long in this stock, a change of 14% from the previous quarter.
With a general bullishness amongst the heavyweights, key money managers were breaking ground themselves. Cadian Capital, managed by Eric Bannasch, initiated the most outsized position in Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT). Cadian Capital had 27.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Israel Englander’s Millennium Management also made a $3.5 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new WAT positions are Israel Englander’s Catapult Capital Management, David Harding’s Winton Capital Management, and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.
How have insiders been trading Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is most useful when the company in focus has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last six-month time frame, Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and 4 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
With the returns demonstrated by our tactics, everyday investors must always keep an eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) is no exception.
