Norden Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Norden Group LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 1,826.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,310 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,231 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC owned about 0.18% of Watts Water Technologies worth $12,606,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 54,393 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,400,000 after acquiring an additional 9,129 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,636,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 95.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 23,228 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,014,000 after acquiring an additional 11,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Watts Water Technologies by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 64,294 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $11,111,000 after buying an additional 5,687 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WTS stock opened at $180.08 on Thursday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.87 and a 1 year high of $219.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $198.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $201.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $6.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.90.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The technology company reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $570.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.20 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.53% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st were issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 31st. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. This is an increase from Watts Water Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WTS. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $206.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $212.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $199.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,806 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $601,578.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, major shareholder Timothy P. Horne sold 2,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.39, for a total value of $470,371.66. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,806 shares in the company, valued at approximately $601,578.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 1,508 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.10, for a total transaction of $324,370.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,204 shares in the company, valued at $4,345,880.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,753 shares of company stock valued at $1,236,753. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.