Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Position Increased by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 8,421.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 104,815 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,585 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $41,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $385,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 80.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 8.3% during 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 valued at $20,163,000 after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at $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 valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $405.00 target price on Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. TD Cowen increased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Five equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $367.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Noonan sold 3,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.72, for a total value of $1,291,078.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $359.55, for a total transaction of $394,066.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,828,579.85. This trade represents a 12.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.8%

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $360.21 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $361.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $329.00. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $260.00 and a 12 month high of $394.54. The stock has a market cap of $12.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The technology company reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.34 by $0.32. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.34% and a return on equity of 19.16%. The firm had revenue of $763.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $725.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.09 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

About Watts Water Technologies

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.