Cartenna Capital LP Takes $47.48 Million Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Cartenna Capital LP bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 170,000 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,478,000. Watts Water Technologies makes up about 1.3% of Cartenna Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,444,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 180,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,375,000 after purchasing an additional 27,093 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 138,293 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,622,000 after purchasing an additional 13,642 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.0% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 6,978 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 3,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 245,741 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,425,000 after purchasing an additional 23,447 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $340.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $320.00 to $389.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $288.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Watts Water Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Watts Water Technologies

In related news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 16,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.31, for a total transaction of $5,258,562.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 191,202 shares in the company, valued at $62,582,326.62. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Virginia A. Halloran sold 605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.78, for a total transaction of $167,451.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 13,412 shares in the company, valued at $3,712,173.36. This represents a 4.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,528 shares of company stock valued at $9,614,906. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Watts Water Technologies stock opened at $297.83 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $308.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $287.91. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $177.59 and a 1 year high of $345.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The technology company reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $625.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $610.40 million. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 18.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 20.45%.

About Watts Water Technologies

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.