Vident Advisory LLC Makes New $2.55 Million Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has acquired 12,485 shares of Watts Water Technologies, amounting to approximately $2.5 million, indicating ongoing interest from institutional investors in the company.
• Despite a recent downgrade from Northcoast Research, analysts have varied opinions, with some maintaining a buy rating and price adjustments, such as Stifel Nicolaus raising the target price to $300.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings with $3.09 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, alongside a $0.52 per share quarterly dividend announcement, supporting investor confidence.

Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 12,485 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $2,546,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WTS. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during 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, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. 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 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock 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. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $2.34 on Wednesday, reaching $275.40. 111,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 229,460. 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 $285.90. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $262.31 and a 200-day moving average of $234.05.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $612.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.46 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 29th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.37%.

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.