Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, holding approximately 1.69% of the company worth $114.6 million after selling 17,036 shares.
• Watts Water Technologies reported earnings of $3.09 per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $643.7 million, marking a 7.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 22.37%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 562,207 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 17,036 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.69% of Watts Water Technologies worth $114,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company's stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,207 shares of the technology company's stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,595 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,345,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.8%

WTS stock traded up $2.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $285.23. The company had a trading volume of 73,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 200,045. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $285.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTS has been the subject of several research reports. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.50.

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.