Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Watts Water Technologies stake by 53.7% in the second quarter, selling 12,448 shares and retaining 10,754 shares worth approximately $4.21 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.02% of the company.
• Watts reported a strong quarterly performance, with EPS of $3.66 exceeding estimates of $3.34 and revenue of $763.1 million surpassing forecasts. Revenue increased 18.6% year over year.
• Shares recently traded at $387.18, near the 52-week high, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $367.70 price target. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.63 per share, yielding about 0.7%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 53.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,754 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 12,448 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $4,210,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Advyzon Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC now owns 843 shares of the technology company's stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 4,163 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 648 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 1.5% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,702 shares of the technology company's stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WTS stock opened at $387.18 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The business's 50 day moving average is $350.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $321.30. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $260.00 and a twelve month high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.34 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $763.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $725.99 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. Watts Water Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.09 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.81 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Watts Water Technologies's payout ratio is 22.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 price objective on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $374.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $367.70.

Watts Water Technologies 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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