Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New $837,000 Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 4,156 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $837,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 279,397 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,210,000 after purchasing an additional 37,452 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $125,904,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $616,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $358,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,924,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $207.36 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $195.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.68. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $167.87 and a fifty-two week high of $219.52. The company has a market capitalization of $6.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.50.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The technology company reported $2.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $597.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $589.55 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.44% and a return on equity of 19.22%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th were given a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total value of $58,567.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $512,237.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Watts Water Technologies news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 315 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.93, for a total transaction of $58,567.95. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,755 shares in the company, valued at $512,237.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 1,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $185.16, for a total transaction of $316,623.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,516 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,132,302.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.