Fox Run Management L.L.C. Invests $467,000 in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,289 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 85.3% during the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 33,458 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,823,000 after acquiring an additional 15,402 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 905,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $184,708,000 after purchasing an additional 273,628 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth about $77,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the first quarter worth about $49,199,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $389,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,000 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.85, for a total value of $1,692,950.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph T. Noonan sold 713 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.45, for a total value of $195,682.85. Following the sale, the director owned 1,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $327,693.30. The trade was a 37.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.50.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:WTS opened at $274.28 on Tuesday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $177.59 and a 12 month high of $278.20. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $253.60 and its 200 day moving average is $228.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.13.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $3.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $2.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.37%.

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.