Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Sells 7,630 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP reduced its position in Watts Water Technologies by 31%, selling 7,630 shares, while still maintaining ownership of 17,007 shares worth approximately $3.47 million.
• Institutional investors now own 95.02% of Watts Water Technologies, with several hedge funds increasing or establishing new stakes in the company during the first quarter.
• Watts Water Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 29th, reflecting a 0.8% dividend yield.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lowered its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 31.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,007 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 7,630 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP owned about 0.05% of Watts Water Technologies worth $3,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $49,199,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,560,000 after purchasing an additional 56,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after purchasing an additional 40,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $284.35. 53,207 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 199,932. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $285.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $257.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.61.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

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.