Truist Financial Corp Raises Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 94.7% in the second quarter, owning 3,002 shares valued at approximately $738,000.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.09, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.41, with revenues of $643.70 million.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,002 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $738,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 39.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 423 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WTS opened at $274.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $287.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $277.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.64.

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 firm had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.46 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTS shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.80.

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.

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