Walleye Capital LLC Has $20.84 Million Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Walleye Capital LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,800 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,719 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $20,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $100,627,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,276,000 after acquiring an additional 165,837 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 20,071.4% in the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 141,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,989,000 after acquiring an additional 140,500 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,484,000 after acquiring an additional 139,637 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 282,830 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,067,000 after acquiring an additional 125,218 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $379.00 to $403.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $345.30.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $341.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $334.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $249.06 and a 52-week high of $394.54.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In other Watts Water Technologies news, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total value of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. This trade represents a 17.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.