Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Bought by Walleye Capital LLC

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 12% in the first quarter, holding 71,800 shares worth about $20.8 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, at roughly 95% of the company’s stock.
• Wall Street analysts are mixed on WTS: the consensus rating is Hold, though several firms recently raised price targets and one issued a Buy rating. The average target price is $345.30, close to the stock’s recent trading level.
• Watts Water Technologies reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.04 and revenue of $677.3 million, both above estimates. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, equal to a 0.7% annualized yield.

Walleye Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,800 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 7,719 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC owned approximately 0.22% of Watts Water Technologies worth $20,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advyzon Investment Management LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the technology company's stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,012 shares of the technology company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 5,510 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTS shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $345.30.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of WTS stock opened at $341.36 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $249.06 and a 1 year high of $394.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.62 and a current ratio of 2.72. The business's fifty day moving average is $334.12 and its 200-day moving average is $313.90. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.14.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The company's revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

Watts Water Technologies, Inc is a global manufacturer and distributor of flow control products and solutions designed to ensure the safe, efficient delivery and use of water. Founded in 1874 and headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts, the company has built a reputation for engineering innovation in residential, commercial and industrial plumbing, heating, cooling and water treatment systems. Watts operates through a comprehensive portfolio of brands and product lines that address application-specific requirements in water safety, pressure regulation, flow control and filtration.

The company's product offerings span backflow preventers, pressure reducing valves, relief valves and steam traps, as well as hydronic balancing and temperature control devices for heating systems.

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