Voleon Capital Management LP Raises Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, acquiring an additional 2,744 shares, resulting in a total of 7,812 shares valued at approximately $1.59 million.
• Watts Water Technologies recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with a declared ex-dividend date of August 29th and a yield of 0.7%.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings of $3.09 EPS, exceeding expectations by $0.41, and revenue of $643.70 million, up 7.8% year-over-year.

Voleon Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 54.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,812 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $1,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth $49,199,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $11,560,000 after acquiring an additional 56,536 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 210.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 57,901 shares of the technology company's stock worth $11,807,000 after purchasing an additional 39,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WTS traded down $2.18 on Friday, reaching $281.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 105,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,709. The stock's 50-day moving average is $266.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.49. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $177.59 and a 52-week high of $285.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.27, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.50.

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.