Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Has $5.01 Million Holdings in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lifted its position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,637 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 7,355 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Watts Water Technologies were worth $5,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTS. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Watts Water Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Watts Water Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $231,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,469 shares in the company, valued at $2,204,038.57. This trade represents a 29.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WTS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Watts Water Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Watts Water Technologies from $218.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Watts Water Technologies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $220.00.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:WTS opened at $207.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $210.96 and a 200-day moving average of $207.45. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $175.37 and a 52 week high of $232.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a return on equity of 18.08% and a net margin of 12.93%. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.43 per share. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. Watts Water Technologies’s payout ratio is 19.79%.

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.