Is Watts Water Technologies Inc (WTS) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Is Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS) a good investment?

To the average investor, there are tons of indicators market participants can use to track the equity markets. Two of the best are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top money managers can outclass the S&P 500 by a superb amount (see just how much).

Just as necessary, optimistic insider trading sentiment is another way to analyze the financial markets. As the old adage goes: there are a variety of stimuli for an upper level exec to get rid of shares of his or her company, but just one, very clear reason why they would buy. Many empirical studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this tactic if shareholders understand where to look (learn more here).

Furthermore, we’re going to discuss the recent info about Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS).

How have hedgies been trading Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 10% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

When using filings from the hedgies we track, Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors had the largest position in Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS), worth close to $88.8 million, comprising 0.6% of its total 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Impax Asset Management, managed by Ian Simm, which held a $41.1 million position; the fund has 4.9% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedgies with similar optimism include James A. Noonan’s Pivot Point Capital, John I. Dickerson’s Summit Global Management and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

Now, specific money managers were breaking ground themselves. GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, assembled the most valuable position in Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS). GAMCO Investors had 88.8 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ian Simm’s Impax Asset Management also made a $41.1 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new WTS investors: James A. Noonan’s Pivot Point Capital, John I. Dickerson’s Summit Global Management, and Joel Greenblatt’s Gotham Asset Management.

What have insiders been doing with Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS)?

Insider buying is particularly usable when the company we’re looking at has seen transactions within the past half-year. Over the last half-year time period, Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS) has experienced zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS). These stocks are Sun Hydraulics Corporation (NASDAQ:SNHY), Mueller Water Products, Inc. (NYSE:MWA), EnPro Industries, Inc. (NYSE:NPO), TriMas Corp (NASDAQ:TRS), and Barnes Group Inc. (NYSE:B). This group of stocks are in the industrial equipment & components industry and their market caps match WTS’s market cap.

Using the returns demonstrated by Insider Monkey’s research, average investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Watts Water Technologies Inc (NYSE:WTS) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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