Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5%, owning approximately 186,198 shares valued at about $45.78 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Boston Partners and Allianz Asset Management GmbH, have significantly increased their positions in Watts Water Technologies, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Watts Water Technologies reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with a revenue of $643.70 million and earnings per share of $3.09, surpassing analysts' estimates.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,198 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Watts Water Technologies makes up 2.0% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.56% of Watts Water Technologies worth $45,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after acquiring an additional 273,628 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth $49,199,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $50,400,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2,366.7% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 153,282 shares of the technology company's stock worth $37,691,000 after acquiring an additional 147,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 210.6% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,901 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,807,000 after acquiring an additional 39,260 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This 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 available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.80.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $281.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $278.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $250.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $287.89.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were 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 was Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.37%.

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.

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