Versor Investments LP Purchases New Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP has acquired 1,800 shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc., valued at approximately $367,000, during the 1st quarter as part of its recent investment activity.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a strong quarterly performance with earnings of $3.09 per share, surpassing estimates, and a revenue increase of 7.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52, representing an annualized dividend of $2.08 with a yield of 0.8%, payable to shareholders on September 15th.

Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,800 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

WTS traded up $2.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $283.63. 197,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 254,309. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $257.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $177.59 and a 1-year high of $284.00.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WTS shares. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $245.50.

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.