Future Fund LLC Raises Stock Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. $WTS

Future Fund LLC grew its stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 26.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,438 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,953 shares during the period. Future Fund LLC’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $2,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies by 10.2% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,887 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 80.2% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 8.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 98,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,163,000 after purchasing an additional 7,537 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 43.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 1,734 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WTS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $360.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Watts Water Technologies from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays upgraded Watts Water Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $317.00 to $414.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $342.90.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $347.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 2.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $246.55 and a 52-week high of $394.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $331.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.33. The firm has a market cap of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.14.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The technology company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.32. The firm had revenue of $677.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $638.13 million. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 14.32%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 12.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael J. Dubose sold 398 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.63, for a total transaction of $123,232.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,814 shares in the company, valued at $561,668.82. This represents a 17.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Elie Melhem sold 2,257 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.00, for a total value of $679,357.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 8,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,697,863. This trade represents a 20.12% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.