XTX Topco Ltd Buys New Stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,579 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 520.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 273 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE WTS opened at $217.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $208.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.20. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $222.70.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $0.04. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.49% and a net margin of 12.37%. The company had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $541.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Watts Water Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.62%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Robert J. Pagano, Jr. sold 20,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.20, for a total value of $4,415,882.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 176,045 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,356,749. This trade represents a 10.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Shashank Patel sold 4,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.10, for a total value of $955,377.90. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 15,635 shares in the company, valued at $3,269,278.50. The trade was a 22.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock worth $6,924,594 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $202.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th.

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.