United Services Automobile Association Purchases New Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association has made a new investment of $369,000 in Watts Water Technologies, purchasing 1,810 shares in the first quarter.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.09, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.68, along with a 7.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with the dividend yield standing at 0.7% and the payout ratio at 22.37%.

United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,810 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $369,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake 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 worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 worth $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted 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 worth $653,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $60,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted 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 worth $1,345,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock traded up $0.63 on Monday, reaching $282.07. The stock had a trading volume of 112,881 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,981. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.59 and a 1 year high of $285.90. The company has a market cap of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business's 50 day moving average is $266.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.49.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.63% and a return on equity of 18.11%. Watts Water Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the 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 directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WTS. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.50.

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.