Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Acquires New Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors acquired 4,450 shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.6 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.02% of the company.
• Watts Water Technologies reported quarterly earnings of $3.66 per share, beating estimates of $3.34, while revenue rose 18.6% year over year to $763.2 million. Analysts project full-year earnings of $12.87 per share.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $371.90, compared with the stock’s reported price of $356.37. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, yielding approximately 0.7%.

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,450 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,576,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTS. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 545,404 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $158,325,000 after purchasing an additional 34,381 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 79.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 218,832 shares of the technology company's stock worth $63,525,000 after buying an additional 97,115 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% during the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,989,000 after buying an additional 140,500 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 58.7% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 135,140 shares of the technology company's stock worth $39,230,000 after buying an additional 49,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 21.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 133,817 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,846,000 after buying an additional 23,300 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $445.00 price target on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Monday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $371.90.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $356.37 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $360.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.98. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $260.00 and a 1-year high of $394.54. The firm has a market cap of $11.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 19.16% and a net margin of 14.34%. The firm had revenue of $763.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.99 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.01%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,828,579.85. The trade was a 12.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc designs, manufactures and sells products that manage the safety, efficiency, quality and flow of water in plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Its products serve residential, commercial, industrial and institutional applications, including new construction, renovation and infrastructure projects.

The company's offerings include backflow prevention and water pressure management equipment, valves, regulators, drainage and plumbing products, water conditioning and filtration systems, water heaters, and solutions for hydronic heating and cooling.

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