170,000 Shares in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Acquired by Cartenna Capital LP

Cartenna Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 170,000 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,478,000. Watts Water Technologies comprises approximately 1.3% of Cartenna Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Cartenna Capital LP owned 0.51% of Watts Water Technologies as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 17.4% during the third quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 27,985 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,140 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 53,157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $14,846,000 after purchasing an additional 5,381 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $6,308,000. Algert Global LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 127.8% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 92,898 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,945,000 after buying an additional 52,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 39.3% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 17,570 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,907,000 after buying an additional 4,954 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $267.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, December 12th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $320.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.11.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of WTS stock opened at $297.83 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $177.59 and a fifty-two week high of $345.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $308.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.91.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $625.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $610.40 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 332 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.70, for a total value of $100,164.40. Following the sale, the director owned 2,212 shares in the company, valued at $667,360.40. This represents a 13.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.04, for a total transaction of $2,475,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,475,300. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,528 shares of company stock worth $9,614,906. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.