Fox Run Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased 2,289 shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc., valued at approximately $467,000, during the first quarter of the year.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.09, which surpassed analysts' expectations of $2.68, along with a revenue of $643.70 million, indicating a 7.8% year-over-year growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52, with a dividend yield of 0.8%, set to be paid on September 15th to stockholders recorded by August 29th.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,289 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after purchasing an additional 386,333 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after purchasing an additional 40,738 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $66,207,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 321,343 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $65,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the 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 sale, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 3.5%

WTS stock traded up $9.39 during trading on Friday, reaching $280.59. The company had a trading volume of 168,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,945. The company has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.59 and a 52 week high of $281.60. The business has a 50 day moving average of $256.32 and a 200 day moving average of $230.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 22.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 note on Friday, August 8th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Company 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.