Dark Forest Capital Management LP Takes $421,000 Position in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Watts Water Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:WTS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,071 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WTS. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 59.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in Watts Water Technologies by 329.1% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 236 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Watts Water Technologies by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 366 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 660.3% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 555 shares of the technology company's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Watts Water Technologies by 45.2% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 95.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on WTS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Watts Water Technologies from $197.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Watts Water Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $229.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $222.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Elie Melhem sold 4,397 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.53, for a total value of $925,700.41. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Watts Water Technologies Price Performance

Shares of WTS stock opened at $206.82 on Friday. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $175.37 and a twelve month high of $232.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.00. The company has a market cap of $6.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.95.

Watts Water Technologies (NYSE:WTS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The technology company reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.14. Watts Water Technologies had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.08%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Watts Water Technologies, Inc. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Watts Water Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Watts Water Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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