Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS Shares Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 90.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,418 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,789 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $4,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wexford Capital LP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 131.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WTS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $358.00 price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $317.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $329.44.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of Watts Water Technologies 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 sale, the director owned 1,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $561,668.82. The trade was a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total transaction of $679,357.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,027 shares of company stock worth $911,262. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:WTS opened at $339.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $238.58 and a fifty-two week high of $345.17.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The business 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 23.06%.

Watts Water Technologies 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.