Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 6.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 299,956 shares valued at $61.17 million.
• Major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares at an average price of $241.85, accumulating nearly $1.69 million from the transaction.
• Watts Water Technologies reported earnings of $3.09 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates and achieving a revenue of $643.70 million. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 299,956 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,516 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.90% of Watts Water Technologies worth $61,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 78,159 shares of the technology company's stock worth $15,938,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 124.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 24,273 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,950,000 after purchasing an additional 13,460 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the technology company's stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 324,669 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,560,000 after purchasing an additional 56,536 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE:WTS traded down $5.1460 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $271.1140. 232,205 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,746. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $279.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $255.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $612.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. Watts Water Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company's 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. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WTS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.