Globeflex Capital L P Acquires Shares of 2,424 Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Globeflex Capital L P bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,424 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $949,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at about $249,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth approximately $358,000. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 76,425 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,917,000 after purchasing an additional 11,876 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 478 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 69.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 674 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTS. Barclays lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $414.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen upped 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $367.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $373.04 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $260.00 and a fifty-two week high of $394.54. The stock has a market cap of $12.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $359.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $325.71.

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

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.01%.

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.