New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Sells 3,270 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. by 53.6%, holding 2,830 shares worth approximately $577,000 after selling 3,270 shares in the first quarter.
• Insiders, including CFO Shashank Patel, sold a total of 15,768 shares valued at around $3.84 million over the last ninety days, representing significant decreases in their ownership.
• Watts Water Technologies reported $3.09 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenue of $643.70 million reflecting a year-over-year increase of 7.8%.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 53.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,830 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 3,270 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Argent Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 439.0% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 2,431 shares of the technology company's stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 37.8% during the first quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 4,301 shares of the technology company's stock worth $877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth $578,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth $802,000. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock traded up $6.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.12. The company had a trading volume of 207,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,296. The company has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $250.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.45. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.59 and a 1-year high of $273.79. 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 (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company 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 of this dividend 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 is currently 22.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.