Credit Agricole S A Acquires 5,664 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A significantly increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 144.2% during the first quarter, owning 9,591 shares worth approximately $1,956,000.
• Several hedge funds, including Assenagon Asset Management and GAMMA Investing, also boosted their positions in Watts Water Technologies, with GAMMA's increase being an extraordinary 36,711.7%.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a $3.09 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, along with a projected annual dividend of $2.08 per share.

Credit Agricole S A increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 144.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,591 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 5,664 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 1.4%

WTS stock traded down $3.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $278.36. The company had a trading volume of 98,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 199,993. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $259.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.49. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $285.90. The stock has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 3.44 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $612.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. Watts Water Technologies's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

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.