Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Stake Reduced by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd reduced its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. by 37.4% in the second quarter, now holding 1,522 shares valued at approximately $374,000.
• Watts Water Technologies reported earnings of $3.09 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.41, with revenue increasing 7.8% year-over-year to $643.70 million.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.52 per share, representing a 0.7% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 22.37%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd decreased its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,522 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 909 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the first quarter worth $49,199,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the second quarter worth $50,400,000. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 210.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 746.3% in the first quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 31,905 shares of the technology company's stock worth $6,506,000 after purchasing an additional 28,135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WTS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Watts Water Technologies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $287.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $253.80.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $277.54 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $287.89. The company has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.63, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $277.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $247.85.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.41. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.11% and a net margin of 13.63%.The business had revenue of $643.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.37%.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $327,693.30. This represents a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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