Strs Ohio Buys Shares of 2,800 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made a new investment of approximately $571,000 in Watts Water Technologies, acquiring 2,800 shares during the first quarter.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a EPS of $3.09 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.68, along with a revenue increase of 7.8% year-over-year.
• The company's stock was recently trading at $280.88 and has shown fluctuations between a 1-year low of $177.59 and a high of $287.89.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,800 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,207 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,595 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded down $0.61 on Tuesday, reaching $279.38. 28,147 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 197,835. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $269.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.45. The firm has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.11. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.59 and a 1-year high of $287.89.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTS shares. Barclays started coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $253.80.

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.