Empowered Funds LLC Buys 26,415 Shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1,808.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,876 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 26,415 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $8,092,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.2% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.2% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,163,000 after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WTS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $330.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $358.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $345.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% 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. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,668.82. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $346.06 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $251.17 and a 12-month high of $394.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $340.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $316.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $11.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.14.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted 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. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.37 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 23.06%.

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.