3,839 Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Purchased by Perbak Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired 3,839 shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. for approximately $783,000, marking it as the firm's 21st largest holding.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a 7.8% year-over-year revenue growth for the quarter, with earnings per share of $3.09, surpassing analyst estimates.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 to be paid to stockholders, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.

Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,839 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $783,000. Watts Water Technologies accounts for 0.6% of Perbak Capital Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $280.09. 151,955 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,313. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $285.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $263.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $234.93.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.50.

About Watts Water Technologies

Watts Water Technologies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, supplies products and solutions that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through, and out of buildings in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets in the Americas, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.