Champlain Investment Partners LLC Makes New $47.24 Million Investment in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 227,993 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,238,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.68% of Watts Water Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WTS. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the third quarter worth $30,000. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new position in Watts Water Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. 95.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Watts Water Technologies

In other news, insider Monica Barry sold 1,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.52, for a total value of $331,318.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 4,430 shares in the company, valued at $941,463.60. The trade was a 26.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Kenneth Robert Lepage sold 3,429 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.65, for a total transaction of $667,454.85. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 14,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,737,557.60. This represents a 19.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,974 shares of company stock valued at $6,924,594. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WTS opened at $215.17 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.90. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $175.37 and a 1 year high of $219.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $204.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $197.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.37% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $543.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $541.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. Watts Water Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $217.00 to $202.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Watts Water Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Watts Water Technologies from $225.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $200.25.

Watts Water Technologies Company Profile

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.