California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Watts Water Technologies stake by 37,958.7% to 12.48 million shares, representing about 37.4% of the company and a reported value of $4.89 billion. Institutional investors collectively own 95.02% of WTS.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate WTS a Buy and six rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $367.70.
• Watts Water Technologies exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $3.66 per share versus $3.34 estimated and revenue of $763.1 million, up 18.6% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equivalent to a 0.7% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 37,958.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,479,817 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,447,026 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 37.39% of Watts Water Technologies worth $4,885,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $397,000. Turner Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $285,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 24.0% in the second quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,958 shares of the technology company's stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 21.8% in the second quarter. AXQ Capital LP now owns 905 shares of the technology company's stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $638,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WTS shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Weiss Ratings raised Watts Water Technologies from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $367.70.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,828,579.85. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total transaction of $1,291,078.00. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.2%

WTS stock opened at $356.60 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.00 and a fifty-two week high of $394.54. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $361.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $329.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.66.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. The company had revenue of $763.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%.The firm's revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.09 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.75 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 Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company's product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.

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