AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 4,753 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 538.9% to a total of 5,635 shares, valued at approximately $1.15 million.
• Watts Water Technologies reported earnings of $3.09 per share for the recent quarter, exceeding expectations by 41 cents, along with a revenue increase of 7.8% year-over-year.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share was announced, with a yield of 0.7%, and is set to be paid on September 15th to shareholders on record as of August 29th.

AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 538.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,635 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 4,753 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,804,000 after buying an additional 386,333 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $184,708,000 after buying an additional 273,628 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,199,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,560,000 after buying an additional 56,536 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $80,983,000 after buying an additional 40,738 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the business'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 sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $280.59 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $256.32 and its 200 day moving average is $230.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.59 and a 1 year high of $281.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share 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. Shareholders 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 of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.

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