1,800 Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Purchased by Versor Investments LP

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 purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,800 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock worth $500,804,000 after acquiring an additional 386,333 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after acquiring an additional 273,628 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth approximately $49,199,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 36,711.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 56,690 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,560,000 after acquiring an additional 56,536 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 398,341 shares of the technology company's stock worth $80,983,000 after acquiring an additional 40,738 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total transaction of $1,692,950.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS traded up $9.39 on Friday, reaching $280.59. The company had a trading volume of 168,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,945. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $256.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $230.55. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $281.60.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $643.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.46 EPS. Watts Water Technologies's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 22.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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 restated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.