Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Has $3.58 Million Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lessened its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 19.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,282 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,054 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,382 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,967 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 71,555 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $13,121,000 after acquiring an additional 28,170 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth about $2,897,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 54.9% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 44,840 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,348,000 after buying an additional 15,901 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 171.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 139,100 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,507,000 after purchasing an additional 87,900 shares during the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $218.61 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $205.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $197.68. The firm has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $175.37 and a 12-month high of $221.19.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $543.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $541.83 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WTS. Northcoast Research upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of 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 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $200.25.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 2,607 shares of Watts Water Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.72, for a total value of $554,561.04. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 11,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,437,133.04. The trade was a 18.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 176,045 shares in the company, valued at $37,356,749. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.