Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 30.7%, owning about 0.34% of the company, valued at $22.6 million.
• The company recently reported earnings of $3.09 per share, surpassing estimates of $2.68, and reported a 7.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• Watts Water Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, yielding 0.7%, set to be paid on September 15th.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 30.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,832 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 26,265 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.34% of Watts Water Technologies worth $22,605,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $49,199,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 210.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,901 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,807,000 after purchasing an additional 39,260 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of WTS traded down $2.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $281.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 105,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,245. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.32. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $285.90. The company has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.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 prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. Watts Water Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis 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 is presently 22.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WTS. Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Insider Activity

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.