Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Boosts Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 85.3%, now holding approximately 0.10% of the company valued at $6.82 million.
• Watts Water Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.09, exceeding expectations and marking a 7.8% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52, with a dividend yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 22.37%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 85.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,458 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,402 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Watts Water Technologies worth $6,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 80.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 293 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 108.4% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $245.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of the company'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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of WTS stock traded down $1.8720 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $276.3280. 176,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 242,282. The business's fifty day moving average is $254.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $177.59 and a 12-month high of $279.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

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

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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