Argent Trust Co Makes New $383,000 Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Key Points

• Argent Trust Co has invested approximately $383,000 in Watts Water Technologies, acquiring 1,876 shares during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors own 95.02% of Watts Water Technologies' stock, indicating strong institutional support.
• Watts Water Technologies recently announced a $0.52 quarterly dividend, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 23.83%.

Argent Trust Co acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,876 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,159 shares of the technology company's stock worth $15,938,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 124.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,950,000 after acquiring an additional 13,460 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the technology company's stock worth $585,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 56,536 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:WTS traded up $1.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $262.67. 295,450 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,536. The company's 50 day moving average is $249.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.86. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $269.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 768 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.40, for a total value of $188,467.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 6,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,530,314.40. This represents a 10.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,768 shares of company stock valued at $3,841,417 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company 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.