Freestone Grove Partners LP Acquires Shares of 1,594 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,594 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 2,463,375 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $500,804,000 after acquiring an additional 386,333 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,887,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 85.1% in the 4th quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 422,026 shares of the technology company's stock worth $85,798,000 after purchasing an additional 194,033 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $23,044,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,773,000. Institutional investors own 95.02% of the company's stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

WTS stock traded up $1.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $236.09. 297,477 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 171,712. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $237.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.25. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. The firm had revenue of $558.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Investors of record on Friday, May 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from Watts Water Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,204,038.57. This represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.00.

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.