Cumberland Partners Ltd Increases Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Cumberland Partners Ltd lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 100.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 13,000 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $3,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. Cartenna Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,478,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 277,669 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,276,000 after buying an additional 165,837 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 223.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 202,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $56,484,000 after buying an additional 139,637 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 34.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 469,508 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $131,124,000 after buying an additional 120,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 2,609.4% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 81,743 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $22,563,000 after buying an additional 78,726 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $301.70, for a total value of $100,164.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $667,360.40. This trade represents a 13.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,697,863. The trade was a 20.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,340 shares of company stock valued at $1,001,905 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $302.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $297.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.28. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $235.14 and a 52 week high of $345.17.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 14.32% and a return on equity of 18.92%. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $358.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $379.00 price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $318.00 to $323.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $329.44.

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.