HB Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,270 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Key Points

• HB Wealth Management LLC purchased 1,270 shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. for approximately $259,000 during the first quarter, highlighting growing investor interest in the company.
• Watts Water Technologies recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%, indicating strong financial health.
• Despite positive earnings reports, Wells Fargo downgraded the stock rating from "buy" to "neutral," reflecting a cautious outlook among analysts.

HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,270 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 108.4% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WTS shares. Northcoast Research downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.00, for a total value of $1,960,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 2,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $674,730. The trade was a 74.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,768 shares of company stock worth $3,841,417 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of WTS opened at $259.42 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $224.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.59 and a 52 week high of $263.07. The stock has a market cap of $8.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.72, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 23.83%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WTS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.