Element Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 12,847 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC has made a new investment of approximately $2.62 million in Watts Water Technologies, acquiring 12,847 shares in the first quarter.
• Major institutional investors are increasing their stakes in Watts Water Technologies, with Kayne Anderson Rudnick raising its stake by 18.6% and Boston Partners by 43.3%.
• Watts Water Technologies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, payable on September 15th, reflecting a 0.8% dividend yield.

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,847 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,620,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at $467,000. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 85.3% during the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 33,458 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,823,000 after acquiring an additional 15,402 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $49,199,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $2.4750 on Thursday, reaching $273.7850. 96,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 200,134. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $254.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.41. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $279.16. 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 (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.The business had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.46 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $245.50.

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.