Townsquare Capital LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 45.6%, holding 12,343 shares valued at approximately $2.5 million.
• The company reported a net revenue of $643.7 million for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, and earnings per share of $3.09, outperforming the consensus of $2.68.
• Watts Water Technologies has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.52 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.8%, to be paid on September 15th.

Townsquare Capital LLC reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,343 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,360 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,410 shares of the technology company's stock worth $2,541,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,172 shares of the technology company's stock worth $851,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 57.3% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 225 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,207 shares of the technology company's stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.0% during the first 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. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:WTS traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $271.23. The stock had a trading volume of 156,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,480. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.13. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $177.59 and a twelve month high of $278.20. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.98.

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 (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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.46 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total transaction of $195,682.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. This trade represents a 37.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were 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. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.